Dr. Craig Buntemeyer and hygienists Selena Murtaugh and Candice DeHues of Tulsa, Oklahoma received the Orkos Award for successfully treating a patient with severe gum disease using minimally invasive dentistry. The patient had not seen a dentist for several years and presented with deep pockets and very inflamed gum tissue. At the initial exam, 100% of all the patient’s pockets were bleeding and 74% of all pockets were deeper than the normal 1-3mm depths. The conservative and effective minimally invasive approach helped the patient avoid surgery and arrested the disease.
After a comprehensive exam on February 7, 2012, a complete periodontal chart was taken. The photo indicates the serious state of the patient’s disease.
Dr. Buntemeyer and his hygiene team discussed treatment options with the patient and the patient decided to start treatment with non-invasive Perio Tray delivery of medication. The prescription trays and medication (Perio Gel with 1.7% hydrogen peroxide) were delivered on February 28. The patient returned three weeks later on March 20th for a full mouth debridement and instructions to continue tray usage. Four quadrants of scaling were completed on April 12, and three months later at the recall visit on July 2 this second picture was taken.
The patient had not been particularly careful with Perio Tray usage in June due to a hectic work schedule, but the hygienist encouraged him that his results would be even better if he would use the Perio Tray delivery of medication daily. He did and returned a month later when this picture was taken.
At his most recent periodontal maintenance visit on October 10, the patient has maintained his results. Bleeding sites were reduced from 100% to 27%. His pocketing over 3mm was reduced from 74% to 25%. With ongoing perio maintenance, the doctor, the hygienists, and the patient are looking forward to maintaining or even improving on these excellent results.
Click to enlarge probing charts
