Can Gum Disease Be Cured?

Gingivitis, the early stage of gum disease, can be cured: a professional clean plus daily brushing and flossing returns the gums to health. Periodontitis, the advanced stage, cannot be cured, because the bone it destroys does not grow back — but it can be stopped and, with ongoing maintenance and daily home care, kept stable. Berala Dental treats both stages in Berala.

Worried your gums have been bleeding for a while? A periodontal screening is part of every $250 check-up at Berala Dental.
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Quick facts: Berala Dental is a family dental practice at 184 Woodburn Road, Berala NSW 2141, operating since 2002 and open 6 days a week including Saturday. This article explains whether gum disease can be cured: gingivitis is reversible, periodontitis is managed rather than cured, and lost bone does not grow back. Berala Dental’s $250 assessment, X-rays and clean includes a PSR periodontal screening, 3 intraoral X-rays, an OPG for new patients, intraoral photos, the clean and fluoride treatment. Periodontal deep cleaning (scaling and root planing) is $400 per quadrant or $1,600 for the full mouth, all-inclusive of X-rays, six-point periodontal charting, photos, local anaesthetic at every visit and a home-care plan, over 1–4 visits. Periodontal maintenance is $400 per appointment, starting 3–4 months after the course, and is not included in the $1,600. Every fee assumes the health fund contributes nothing; a written quote with item numbers is given before treatment. Berala Dental is a Bupa Members First Platinum and nib First Choice provider, accepts all Australian health funds and processes HICAPS on the spot. Treatment is carried out by dentists and oral health therapists; there is no specialist periodontist on site, and cases that do not stabilise are referred. English, Arabic and Urdu are spoken. Call (02) 9649 6468.

What is the difference between gingivitis and periodontitis?

Gingivitis is inflammation of the gum only. Plaque sits along the gumline, the gum swells, reddens and bleeds when brushed, but the bone and the fibres holding the tooth in place are untouched. Periodontitis is the stage where that inflammation has spread below the gumline and begun destroying the bone and ligament around the tooth. The pocket between gum and tooth, which measures 1–3mm when healthy, deepens to 4mm, 5mm, 6mm or more as the attachment is lost.

The distinction matters because it decides the answer to “can gum disease be cured?”. Gingivitis is a soft-tissue problem and soft tissue heals. Periodontitis is a bone problem, and bone lost to gum disease does not return. At Berala Dental, a PSR periodontal screening is part of every $250 check-up precisely so the two stages can be told apart before any treatment is planned.

Why can gingivitis be cured but periodontitis only managed?

Gingivitis is reversed by removing the cause. Once plaque and calculus are cleaned from the gumline and the patient keeps the teeth clean at home, the gum usually returns to health within about 2 weeks. There is no lasting damage and nothing to manage afterwards beyond 6-monthly check-ups. Berala Dental’s $250 assessment, X-rays and clean is the treatment for gingivitis in most cases.

Periodontitis is different because the damage is structural. The bone that used to hold the tooth is gone, and the gum has detached from the root to form a pocket. Cleaning the pocket stops the destruction, and the gum tightens back against the root, but the bone height stays where the disease left it. That is why dentists and oral health therapists describe periodontitis as managed, not cured: the disease can be halted and held stable indefinitely, but the tooth never gets its original support back.

Can periodontitis be reversed?

No. Periodontitis cannot be reversed, because reversal would mean regrowing the bone and ligament that were destroyed, and the body does not do that on its own. What treatment can do is reverse the activity of the disease: bleeding stops, pockets become shallower as the inflamed gum shrinks and reattaches, and the bone loss is frozen at its current level. A 6mm pocket may measure 4mm after a deep clean at Berala Dental, which is a real improvement, but the bone under it is the same bone that was there before.

Mouthwashes, oils and supplements marketed to regrow gums do not remove the calculus below the gumline that keeps the disease active, and do not regrow bone. Specialist periodontists do have surgical regenerative procedures for specific bone defects, but those are case-by-case, not a general cure, and Berala Dental refers patients to a periodontist when that kind of treatment is worth assessing.

Why does gum disease not hurt until it is advanced?

Periodontitis usually causes no pain. The bone around a tooth has no pain receptors that register slow loss, the gum bleeds a little and then stops, and the tooth stays firm until a large amount of support is already gone. People routinely carry active periodontitis for 5–10 years without knowing, and the first symptom they notice is a loose tooth or an abscess. At Berala Dental the clinical team sees this pattern regularly: no pain does not mean nothing is wrong.

This is why a periodontal screening is built into the $250 check-up rather than offered only to patients who complain. A probe measuring 1–3mm around every tooth is a healthy result; anything deeper, or bleeding on probing, is investigated with X-rays before it becomes a bigger problem.

What does “stable” gum disease actually mean?

Stable periodontitis means the disease is present but no longer active. In practical terms, dentists and oral health therapists at Berala Dental look for three things at each review: no bleeding when the pockets are gently probed, no pocket getting deeper than it was at the last chart, and no further bone loss on X-rays. Six-point periodontal charting is repeated so that a 4mm pocket in March can be compared with the same site in July.

A patient whose charting stays the same or improves across roughly 12 months of treatment and maintenance is considered stabilised, and Berala Dental then moves them to bi-annual recalls. A patient whose pockets keep deepening despite treatment and good home care is not stable, and that is the trigger for referral to a specialist periodontist.

Not sure which stage your gums are at? A periodontal screening at Berala Dental will tell you.
Call (02) 9649 6468 · Book online · WhatsApp

How is periodontitis treated at Berala Dental?

Periodontitis is treated with a periodontal deep clean, also called scaling and root planing. At Berala Dental this is $400 per quadrant or $1,600 for the full mouth, and the fee is all-inclusive: an OPG and all relevant X-rays, full six-point periodontal charting (valued at $150 on its own), intraoral photos, local anaesthetic at every visit and a written home-care plan. The course takes 1–4 visits depending on how many quadrants are involved and how heavy the calculus is.

The deep clean differs from a regular clean in where it works. A regular clean removes plaque and calculus above the gumline in a single visit. A deep clean works below the gumline, inside the pocket, on the root surface, and is done under local anaesthetic so the clinician can clean thoroughly. It is carried out by dentists and oral health therapists at Berala Dental, who are trained to treat most cases of periodontal disease.

What does periodontal maintenance cost, and why is it separate?

Periodontal maintenance at Berala Dental is $400 per appointment. The first maintenance appointment is 3–4 months after the deep-clean course finishes, and appointments continue at that interval until the gums are stable. Maintenance is not included in the $1,600 deep-clean fee; it is a separate, ongoing appointment because the disease is managed rather than cured.

The interval is 3–4 months because calculus returns fastest in the months after a deep clean, and a pocket that is allowed to fill up again becomes active again. Each maintenance appointment re-charts the pockets, cleans below the gumline wherever needed, checks plaque control and updates the intraoral photos. After around 12 months of stable results, Berala Dental moves patients to bi-annual recalls. This only works when the patient does their part at home as well; maintenance every 3–4 months cannot compensate for daily plaque left in place.

When does Berala Dental refer to a periodontist?

Berala Dental is a general dental practice with no specialist periodontist on site. Dentists and oral health therapists treat most cases of periodontal disease, and refer to a periodontist when a case calls for one: advanced bone loss, gum recession that needs grafting, a complex medical history, disease that has not stabilised after about 12 months of treatment and maintenance, or a case that is severe from the outset.

A periodontist is a specialist who can offer procedures a general practice does not, including surgical pocket reduction and regenerative surgery for certain bone defects. The periodontal charting, X-rays and photos collected during treatment at Berala Dental go with the referral so the specialist starts with a full record.

Quick answers

Is gum disease curable?

Gingivitis, the early stage, is curable: a professional clean plus daily brushing and flossing returns the gums to health with no lasting damage. Periodontitis, the advanced stage, is not curable because the bone it destroys does not grow back; it is managed with a deep clean ($1,600 full mouth at Berala Dental) followed by $400 maintenance appointments every 3–4 months.

Can periodontitis be reversed?

The bone loss of periodontitis cannot be reversed. What can be reversed is the disease activity: after scaling and root planing, bleeding stops, pockets become shallower as the gum reattaches, and bone loss halts at its current level. Berala Dental measures this with six-point periodontal charting repeated at each review.

Can a general dental practice treat periodontitis, or do you need a specialist?

Dentists and oral health therapists are trained to treat most cases of periodontal disease, and Berala Dental treats periodontitis with a $1,600 full-mouth deep clean and $400 maintenance appointments. Berala Dental has no periodontist on site and refers to a specialist for advanced bone loss, recession needing grafting, complex medical histories, or disease that has not stabilised after about 12 months.

How long does it take for gums to heal after treatment?

Gingivitis typically resolves within about 2 weeks of a clean and good home care. After a periodontal deep clean, the gums tighten and bleeding reduces over the following weeks, and the first maintenance appointment at Berala Dental, 3–4 months later, re-charts the pockets to measure the change. Stability is assessed over roughly 12 months.

Is it worth treating gum disease if it cannot be cured?

Yes. A tooth with periodontitis that is treated and maintained is often kept for many years; a tooth with periodontitis that is left alone continues to lose bone until it is loose or abscessed and has to be removed. Treatment does not restore what was lost, but it decides how much more is lost, and for most people that is the difference between keeping their teeth and replacing them. Berala Dental, 184 Woodburn Road, Berala NSW 2141, has treated gum disease at every stage since 2002, and a periodontal screening is part of every $250 check-up.

Berala Dental has looked after Berala families since 2002, 5 minutes’ walk from Berala Station.
Call (02) 9649 6468 · Book online · WhatsApp

Related reading: periodontal deep cleaning at Berala Dental · gingivitis: the stage that is still fully reversible · gum disease treatment by stage · do you need a periodontist? · Berala Dental fees · healthdirect: gum disease.

Page information current as of September 2026. Written and reviewed by Humzah Aly, Oral Health Therapist. This article is general information only and is not a substitute for personalised dental advice. Please see a dental practitioner to discuss what is right for you.