★★★★★
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If you’ve already been through the deep cleaning conversation, you know what comes next: a three-to-four month maintenance schedule, a re-probe at every visit, and a practice that actually shows up for it. A lot of patients with a history of periodontal disease move to Southwest Austin and let the interval slide because their old dentist is now across town.
We’re at Lantana Place, steps from the AMD and SolarWinds campus, a quick drive from Travis Country and Barton Creek. We take over wherever your last practice left off.
Periodontal treatment with scaling and root planing doesn’t eliminate the bacteria responsible for gum disease. It removes the hardened tartar that shelters them and brings the tissue environment back under control. Left without maintenance, the bacteria that survive below the gumline begin to recolonize the treated pockets in roughly ninety days. The three-to-four month maintenance interval exists specifically because of this biology. It is not a suggestion that generalizes to six months once you feel better.
This is the gap that creates the most backsliding in periodontal care. Patients finish their deep cleaning feeling like the problem is solved, extend their appointments, and end up needing deep cleanings again eighteen months later. The re-probe at every maintenance visit is what catches the drift before it becomes retreat. If your pocket depths are holding tight, the numbers show it. If they’re not, the numbers show that too. The gum disease these visits manage is a lifelong condition, not a one-time fix.
The systemic dimension compounds the stakes. Active gum disease carries a 2 to 3 times elevated risk of heart attack and stroke compared to managed disease. The patients we see for regular perio maintenance here, the AMD and SolarWinds professionals who understand data-driven health management, tend to understand this. The interval is part of their health protocol, not an inconvenience. For patients weighing orthodontic work alongside maintenance, untreated drift also drives bone loss around the teeth in Lantana.
A periodontal maintenance visit has a different scope than a standard cleaning appointment, and it produces different information.
Every pocket around every tooth measured in millimetres, every visit. We compare to your previous numbers. If a pocket that was at four millimetres is now at five, we see it before it becomes six. If it’s back at three, you know your home care is working.
We clean below the gumline in the pockets that need it, which is not the same teeth every visit. We’re addressing what the numbers tell us, not working from a standing routine.
For pockets that are stubborn or showing signs of reactivation, laser alongside debridement gets better outcomes than mechanical cleaning alone. Used based on your chart, not on a per-visit default.
At the end of every visit, we tell you whether we’re holding course, tightening the interval, or extending it. Progress is in the chart. You always know where you stand.
For patients transferring their perio care, the stage you’re at when you arrive determines the maintenance protocol we start with.
Healthy pockets read at three millimetres or less. We measure every tooth, every visit, so we can spot the half-millimetre that matters before it becomes the four that does not heal on its own.
If your previous treatment resolved active disease and you're now at healthy depths, we maintain at the interval your numbers support. Some patients with a history of gum disease do well at four months; some extend to six. Your chart tells us.
Fully reversibleControlled with regular maintenance. Re-probe every visit. If anything reopens, we address it in the chair. No need to start the deep-cleaning cycle again if we catch drift early.
Manage progressionCloser interval, sometimes supplemented with Arestin antibiotic microspheres placed in the pockets that aren't holding. Bone levels tracked on updated X-rays. The goal is stability.
Manage progressionIf you've had grafting or regenerative procedures, we coordinate with the periodontist and maintain at the interval they've specified. Consistency across providers matters here.
Save what we canIf you're not sure which stage you're currently at, we start with a re-probe and current X-rays. That gives us a baseline to compare against going forward.
Three to four months for most patients with a history of periodontal disease. Every six months if your numbers have held tight for more than a year and your prior provider had extended the interval. We don’t default to a schedule. We read the chart you bring and confirm whether your previous interval was appropriate for your current numbers.
Bacterial recolonization is the reason the three-to-four month window matters. The bacteria that cause gum disease can rebuild in treated pockets in about ninety days. Six months gives them ninety more days than they need. Most patients coming to us from a previously treated practice find that their prior provider had the interval right. We stay on it.
For patients who let the schedule slide during a move or a transition, we start from a fresh re-probe and determine the right cadence from current numbers, not from what the record says used to work.
For patients transferring periodontal maintenance from another practice, what matters is whether the recall actually happens and whether anyone is reading the numbers. Here is how we operate.
Not a standard cleaning with a once-a-year check. Every tooth, every pocket, every visit. If your numbers are holding, you hear it. If something changed, you hear that too. No assumptions.
For pockets that aren’t holding with mechanical debridement alone, the laser is next. Used where it’s indicated, not on a protocol default. Faster healing and better long-term results than debridement alone.
We receive your perio records, load your previous pocket chart, and maintain from that baseline. The goal is continuity, not starting over. Bring whatever records your prior dentist can share.
Most maintenance visits are just that, maintenance. Occasionally a pocket reopens or a new area activates. When that happens, these are the two approaches we use.
When a pocket that was previously stable has deepened and new tartar has formed below the gumline. Same protocol as the original deep cleaning, but targeted to the specific area that has regressed.
Used for pockets that respond poorly to mechanical debridement alone. Laser targets diseased tissue and bacteria, sterilizes the pocket, and promotes faster healing of the gum tissue.
Southwest Austin and nearby
Enamel Dentistry Lantana Place
7415 Southwest Pkwy Building 6 #200
Austin, TX 78735
Phone: (512) 648-6115
Getting here: At Lantana Place, right off MoPac at Southwest Parkway. Plenty of parking in the development lot. Same complex as the Moviehouse & Eatery.
Areas served: Lantana, Travis Country, Barton Creek, Western Oaks, East Oak Hill, and Sendera. Primary ZIPs 78735, 78746, and 78749.
We accept most PPO dental insurance plans and bill directly so you can focus on your smile, not paperwork.
Please note: We accept PPO plans only. We are not in-network with HMO, Medicaid, or CHIP plans at this time. Not sure what type of plan you have? Enter it below and we will let you know.
Find out if we accept your insurance at your nearest location.
From Travis Country to Western Oaks, here's what Lantana patients tell us about their periodontal maintenance visits.
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Can't find yours? The studio number is (512) 648-6115. (512) 648-6115
Periodontal maintenance doesn't reset when you change practices. We pick up from where your prior dentist left off, maintain your interval, and re-probe every visit. At Lantana Place, right off MoPac, same complex as AMD and SolarWinds.