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Diagnoses

Secondary occlusal trauma

Common treatment options

In most dental situations, you have the time to evaluate your treatment choices. No treatment is always an option, but may not be in your best interest. If you elect to be treated, there is often more than one way to proceed. Common treatment options for this diagnosis are listed on this page.

Secondary occlusal trauma can be treated on multiple levels. First, the periodontal disease should be controlled. This may involve scaling & root planing, treatment with locally applied antibiotics, and regular periodontal maintenance procedures to keep the disease under control. Patients with moderate to advanced periodontal disease may require surgical periodontal treatment to control progression of the illness.

Once the periodontal disease is under active management (it is not curable), stabilization of the teeth may be achieved through periodontal splinting and/or use of an occlusal guard. If the periodontal disease is controlled, and adequate supporting bone is present, orthodontic treatment may be possible to achieve correct alignment of the teeth, and more ideal distribution of chewing forces. Orthodontic tooth movement should not be done if a patient has active periodontal disease.

More information on dental procedures

Equilibration
Dental procedure image: Occlusal adjustments
Equilibration involves adjusting the way teeth fit together, such that when the jaws are closed together, the forces on the teeth are approximately equal...
Localized antibiotic administration
Dental procedure image: Localized antibiotic administration
Antibiotics are drugs which, when prescribed at traditional doses, either kill or prevent reproduction of bacteria...
Occlusal guards
Dental procedure image: Occlusal guards (night guards)
Occlusal guards are worn over the biting surfaces of either the upper or lower teeth and evenly distribute bite forces to protect the teeth and the temporomandibular joints from stresses...
Orthodontics
Dental procedure image: Orthodontics
Orthodontics is a branch of dentistry that specializes in proper alignment of the teeth, jaws and facial bones...
Periodontal maintenance
Dental procedure image: Periodontal maintenance
Periodontal maintenance consists of periodic removal of bacterial plaque and calculus from both above and beneath the gum line in patients who have undergone treatment for periodontal disease...
Periodontal stabilization splint
Dental procedure image: Periodontal stabilization splint
Splinting is a technique used to stabilize teeth which have become loose as a result of losing the supporting bone around them to periodontal disease...
Periodontal surgery
Dental procedure image: Periodontal surgery
Periodontics is a surgical specialty of dentistry that involves treatment of disease processes affecting the gums and tooth supporting bone...
Scaling & root planing
Dental procedure image: Scaling and root planing
Scaling & root planing (SRP) are terms most often used together to describe a non-surgical periodontal procedure for the treatment of early to moderate periodontal disease...