Award Winner: Dr. Guy Grabiak and team.
Littleton, CO dentist Dr. Guy Grabiak and team celebrate case study award for long-term healthy results with their patient.
-- The clientele at the Denver Dentistry, office of Dr. Guy Grabiak in Littleton, CO, prefer a holistic, biocompatible approach to their oral care, and customized dental treatment without a lot of harsh chemicals or surgical procedures.
The typical patients seeking care from Dr. Grabiak and his team are health conscious, exercise regularly, and have regular dental care. But, even so, they can struggle to maintain their gingival health. One particular patient who is an avid marathon runner serves as a good example of the challenges even healthy patients face maintaining healthy gums.
Despite this patient's best efforts at home and excellent oral hygiene, he still experienced red, swollen, bleeding gums. He was diagnosed with active periodontal disease. He began traditional periodontal therapies in 2017 with scaling and root planing, the physical removal of debris and bacteria below the gum line. The patient faithfully attended all his quarterly periodontal maintenance visits and was highly compliant with oral hygiene instructions. Unfortunately, his periodontal health continued to decline.
Oral biofilms are composed of pathogenic bacteria. Even when removed by a skilled dental professional, these bacterial communities will start to reform almost immediately. Like many others, the patient's frustration grew while doing everything at home to minimize plaque and tartar
accumulation.
The highly trained dental team took time to closely review his health history and listen to his concerns and frustrations. He logged many miles running each week, and the hours of mouth breathing may have affected his results. A problem for this patient and all patients is that traditional tools, even when meticulously used, can't break the cycle of the pathogenic bacteria repopulating deep below the gum line between office visits.
The Denver Dentistry team offered him Perio Tray™ therapy from Perio Protect, a customized tray delivery of biocompatible medication deep below the gumline to fight infection and inflammation. The patient agreed and started the easy homecare therapy in 2019.
After the first two weeks of using Perio Tray™ delivery of Perio Gel™ (1.7% hydrogen peroxide), the patient told the dental team that he "likes the way my mouth feels." Significant clinical improvement was evident and recorded in the periodontal chart three months later. In this short time, gingival bleeding decreased substantially, and periodontal probing depths reduced by up to 2mm. These results were the first indication that the inflammation was decreasing. The patient began to notice less bleeding at home, fresher breath, and whiter teeth.
Eight months after starting his new Perio Protect homecare, he had a huge win. On May 13, 2020, the patient came to the office for regular periodontal maintenance. It was the first time that his periodontal scores were all in the healthy range of 1-3mm and that he had only one site with isolated light bleeding.
Hygienist Angelina Geon recalled that he was diligently listening during the periodontal evaluation, as many of her patients do. "When we had completed the periodontal evaluation, he heard the improvement and absence of 4mm or greater pocket depths. The patient jumped out of the chair and high-fived me." Angelina had been on the journey back to health with this patient for several years. This "clean bill of health" gave the patient and his hygienist a sense of accomplishment.
Patients are empowered to maintain or regain their oral health with customized, effective home care. It has been nearly four years since the patient started with Perio Protect, and his sustained excellent results indicate that the benefits are long-lasting.
In January 2022 the Denver Dentistry team monitored the patient’s inflammatory markers (blood leukocyte, protein) using the SillHa Oral Wellness System. All inflammatory markers were in the low range, including low ammonia levels which are indicative of good oral hygiene. At his most recent office visit in March of 2023, he maintained excellent gingival health with zero bleeding points.
“This patient’s results are not abnormal to our office,” says Geon. “We have many patients with the same story. Perio Protect has been a game changer for our patients. Those who have struggled with periodontal diseases, sometimes for a lifetime, now have a verifiable treatment that produces clinical sustainable results.”
Perio Protect proudly celebrates these results with an Orkos Award for excellence in case study. Congratulations to the Denver Dentistry Team!
For additional information on the dental practice of Dr Guy Grabiak, DMD, FAGD in Littleton CO, visit https://www.denverdentistry.com. Details on prescription Perio Tray™ therapy are available at www.PerioProtect.com/claims.