What ARESTIN Is
ARESTIN is made up of tiny antibiotic microspheres, think of them as a time-release powder, that we tuck directly into the infected pockets below your gumline. That is the one place your brush and floss simply cannot reach. Once placed, the microspheres release their medicine slowly over the days that follow, fighting the bacteria that drive gum disease right at the source rather than asking a pill to find its way there.
When We Use It
At our Harrisonburg practice on Medical Avenue, we use ARESTIN as part of a complete plan for moderate to advanced gum disease, not on its own. It works best as a companion to a deep cleaning, the procedure your dentist calls scaling and root planing, which smooths the tooth roots and removes hardened buildup below the gums. Research shows that pairing ARESTIN with a deep cleaning shrinks those gum pockets more than the cleaning does by itself, which gives your gums a better chance to heal and reattach.
What the Visit Is Like
Placing ARESTIN is quick and comfortable, done chairside in the same visit as your deep cleaning, so there is no separate procedure to dread and nothing to recover from afterward.
- We complete your deep cleaning first to clear the pockets.
- We gently place the microspheres into the treated pockets.
- There is no bandage to remove later, the medicine simply dissolves on its own.
Following Up
We then check in at your follow-up visits, measuring your pockets and looking at your gum tissue to make sure the treatment is working for you. For our Valley patients fighting a stubborn gum infection that has not responded to cleaning alone, this small step can make a real difference, and we will always explain exactly how your gums are responding in plain language across Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, and the wider Shenandoah Valley.