★★★★★
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Moved here, got busy, noticed some bleeding the last time you actually flossed? That part matters more than it might seem. Gum disease is quiet in the early stages. The bleeding is usually the loudest thing it does before it stops announcing itself and just starts causing damage. We measure the pockets, clear out the buildup, and tell you exactly what’s happening in plain language. Our East 5th studio is a block off the Plaza Saltillo Red Line platform, so the appointment you’ve been putting off is actually pretty easy to make happen.
Nobody moves to the East Side thinking about their gums. There are leases to sign, restaurants to try, a dentist to eventually find. The problem is that gum disease doesn’t wait for your schedule to clear. It moves in the background. The bacteria that harden into tartar below the gumline don’t announce themselves. By the time pockets deepen past four or five millimetres, you might notice bleeding, sensitivity, or a bad taste — or you might notice nothing at all until the bone has already been doing its part of the job.
Gingivitis is the early stage. Caught here, it is completely reversible with a professional cleaning and a better home routine. That is the good version. The bad version involves irreversible bone loss, recession, and mobility — the kind of things that take months of active treatment to stabilize rather than one cleaning to clear.
There’s also something worth knowing about the rest of your body. Most people haven’t heard this from their dentist: getting gum disease under control ends up doing something for the rest of your health picture too. Patients who treat it often see it reflected in metrics that have nothing to do with their mouth. Another reason not to put the appointment off another few months.
Most people come in somewhere on this spectrum. The good news is that earlier is dramatically easier.
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.
Red, swollen gums that bleed easily when you floss. That's what the bleeding is telling you. Plaque buildup caused it. A professional cleaning and a better home routine clears it completely. Fully reversible — no bone loss yet.
Fully reversibleGum tissue is starting to separate from the tooth. Real pockets are forming. Scaling and root planing below the gumline, often paired with a diode laser, is the treatment. Halted and managed with the right follow-up.
Manage progressionBone and the ligaments supporting your teeth are taking damage. At this point the infection is affecting more than just your mouth. Deep cleaning plus targeted antibiotic microspheres. Closer maintenance schedule.
Manage progressionSignificant bone loss and possible tooth mobility. We coordinate surgical referral for gum grafts or regenerative procedures. We save what we can and plan the rest.
Save what we canNot sure where you are? That's exactly what the first appointment answers. Book a new patient visit to find out.
After a first cleaning or deep cleaning, healthy patients return every six months. People managing active periodontitis come back every three to four months. That shorter interval is not a punishment. The bacteria that cause gum disease can recolonize deep pockets in roughly ninety days, which means a four-month gap can undo what the last visit accomplished.
For a lot of new patients here, the first step is figuring out what interval their mouth actually needs. We’ll tell you after the first visit, in plain language, with the pocket numbers to back it up.
The laser goes into the pockets alongside the deep cleaning. Less post-procedure bleeding, and the pockets close down further than they do without it. That difference shows up at your next re-probe.
Local anesthesia for every deep cleaning, included. Noise-cancelling headphones and your show of choice. We will not lecture you about flossing while your mouth is open. The visit is focused on fixing, not on reviewing the past.
Every tooth re-probed at every maintenance visit. Progress — or the lack of it — shows up in millimetres, not “we’ll keep an eye on things.” You always know exactly where you stand.
Most gum disease, especially early-stage, does not require surgery. Two non-surgical approaches handle the majority of what we see.
We clear the hardened tartar and bacteria out, smooth the root surface so the tissue has something clean to reattach to. Fully numb before we start.
Gets into the pocket wall, reduces the bacterial load, and speeds healing. Nothing is cut.
Serving East Austin and surrounding communities
Saltillo Studio
901 E 5th St, Suite 170
Austin, TX 78702
Phone: (512) 649-7510
Off IH-35 and East Cesar Chavez, one block from the Plaza Saltillo Red Line platform.
East Cesar Chavez, Holly, Cherrywood, Govalle, Rainey Street, and the broader near-East Side. Primary ZIPs 78702, 78722, 78721, and 78701 downtown.
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 Cherrywood to Rainey, here's what the East Side tells us after their perio visits.
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Yeah, it is. Healthy gums don't typically bleed when you clean them — even when you've gone a while without flossing. Intermittent is still a flag. It might be gingivitis, which clears up with a cleaning and better home care. It might be further along. The only way to know is to measure it.
Probably not as rough as you're imagining. We measure the pockets, look at your X-rays, and tell you exactly what's there. If it's gingivitis, a cleaning handles it. If there's more happening, we walk through it step by step. No lecture.
We find out by measuring your pockets. Pockets at three millimetres or less are healthy. Deeper ones, with tartar below the gumline, need a deep cleaning. A regular cleaning can't safely reach that area. We'll tell you which one applies to your situation at the evaluation.
Usually yes, at least partially. Most PPO plans cover periodontal deep cleanings and maintenance visits, not just regular cleanings. We verify your benefits before you sit down and bill insurance directly.
Yes. We're on East 5th, one block from the platform. Walk out of Saltillo toward East 5th, turn right, we're on the corner. Takes about two minutes.
Healthy gums are the foundation of everything else in your mouth. An appointment at our East 5th studio takes one visit to get you a diagnosis and a plan. The Red Line stops a block away. Same-week availability.