At the beginning of the year Polly invested in an EMS GBT machine. The reasoning for this was because it is a minimally invasive technique that manages dental plaque, meaning less usage of abrasive and sometimes sensitive instruments and equipment. This results in better plaque levels in the mouth. Some of you may have experienced it, but for those who haven't here's a brief overview of what it is and what to expect.
What is GBT- guided biofilm therapy? A systematic approach to removing biofilm - the colourless, bacteria-laden film that adheres to teeth and causes cavities, gum disease and implant infections. Removing biofilm with GBT is minimally invasive, modern, and backed by decades of scientific study and experience.
So what is a biofilm?- In plain English, this means that dental plaque is a biofilm - it's sticky and difficult to remove, it needs friction to remove it, think of it like slime on a seaside rock, you couldn't just remove it by rinsing it you would need to scrub it.
GBT what's involved?
Disclosing - this is when we stain the plaque so that you and myself can see it. At Treetops we usually take a plaque score at the same time too. This is followed by OHA - Oral Health Advice, as we can now see the a build up of plaque we can give tailored advice eg. Deposits between the teeth - we may demonstrate icon brushes, giving you samples of the correct sizes for you. Or for marginal deposits we may use the Oral B io test drive to demonstrate an improved brushing technique.
Removal of the biofilm - young calculus and staining, for this we use an EMS airflow. An air polishing machine that uses a fine powder with air and warm water, to remove the deposits.
The benefits of this are: it feels less sensitive than the traditional ultrasonic scaler. The fine jet gets into interproximal spaces, pits and fissures much more effectively and the powder kills pathogens in dental plaque.
GBT uses disinfecting agents along with mechanical disruption to kill disease-causing microorganisms living in plaque biofilm. This reduces infection risk compared to solely mechanical plaque removal and slows biofilm regrowth.
The protocol aims to thoroughly disrupt biofilm instead of just removing some buildup. This helps slow the regrowth of sticky new biofilm on cleaned tooth surfaces. It is also fantastic around fixed orthodontic brackets- my teenage son loved his airflow polish and from my point of view it made cleaning the brackets much easier than traditional cleaning methods.
Removal of mature calculus if needed, for this we would use the piezoelectric scaler tip on the EMS machine. This feels more like the traditional ultrasonic scaler, but it too uses warm water, so still tends to be less sensitive. The response to the new EMS machine, has been great so far, almost all of the patients who have had GBT have said they preferred it and want it on their next visit!
At Treetops we know how lovely and polite our patients are, so I have been working my way round the nurses with the EMS machine, as I know they will be brutally honest. They have all preferred it too! I hope you get to try it at your next hygienist visit, please ask and if it is available give it a go! (sadly we only have one machine currently yet you never know if you don't ask you don't get)
I hope you enjoy it too.
Stacy
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