WHAT IS PERIODONTAL DISEASE?
When you don’t have proper oral hygiene, a sticky biofilm full of bacteria accumulates on your teeth and gums; this film is what we call plaque. Over time, if it isn’t removed properly, plaque will calcify into a crust called tatar or calculus. This calculus will cause your body to react against it, leading to gum infection, inflammation, bone loss and eventual tooth loss.
Gingivitis is periodontal disease at its earliest stage where only the gum is infected. At home, you may notice it as bleeding from your gums when your brush and floss. Gingivitis causes your gums to swell and trap more and more bacteria leading to a cycle of more and more inflammation. If this goes untreated, gingivitis develops into periodontitis, which is periodontal disease at advanced stages. When periodontitis occurs, all the areas surrounding the teeth (such as the surface of the root of the tooth, the bone and the ligament that hold them together) deteriorate and eventually cause the teeth to become moveable and fall out.
Moreover, periodontal disease has been associated with other health conditions in the body. Studies have shown that the existence of gum disease is linked to heart disease and clogging the arteries in your body. It has also been associated with worsening heart conditions. Even strokes, diabetes, and premature births all have connections with periodontal disease. Feel free to ask your dentist near you at Prestige Dental Care how the state of your mouth could be affecting your overall health.
WHAT CAUSES PERIODONTAL DISEASE?
Periodontal disease is multifactorial, meaning that many factors bring about its existence. One factor is your habits and general oral hygiene. The more care you take of your teeth, meaning brushing at least twice a day for 2 minutes each with proper technique and flossing at least once a day, the less likely it is for the inflammation to take hold and progress. In addition, avoiding habits such as smoking and maintaining a healthy diet will do wonders for your oral health. Smoking is especially harmful to gums since it is known to decrease blood flow and thus inhibits your body from fighting microbes that may invade your mouth. Another important factor is your genetic makeup. Your genes can also dictate whether you are more susceptible to the microbes that cause periodontal disease. This is where your dentist in Lake Worth at Prestige Dental Care can be especially helpful, since he/she can recommend the right management sequence for your case. Usually that consists of a deep cleaning and then regular maintenance cleanings in order to limit the attack of these harmful organisms on your teeth and bone.
WHAT IS GUM TREATMENT?
Gum or periodontal treatment is a gentle process by which a dentist or hygienist removes the calculus (tartar) from your gums and teeth. The severity of your gum disease will determine the type of dental cleaning you will need. There are two main types of dental cleaning, regular professional cleaning and deep cleaning. In order to assess the severity of your gum disease and thus, the type of cleaning more suitable for your oral condition, your gums will be evaluated for bleeding and swelling. This evaluation is done by measuring or “probing” the spaces between your teeth and the surrounding gum. In addition to this, dental x-rays are needed to further assess the case’s gravity. Your caring Lake Worth dentist and dental hygienist will work together in order to come up with your unique plan of action to bring your gum disease under control.
REGULAR PROFESSIONAL CLEANING
It is a preventive process in which your hygienist or dentist removes plaque, tartar and stains from your teeth. A regular cleaning is usually recommended by your oral health professional to be done twice or three times a year, in regular intervals, depending on your oral health.
DEEP CLEANING
This is a type of dental cleaning recommended to patients that show signs of periodontal disease. Typical signs are bleeding, presence of calculus (tartar build up) below your gums, deep gum pockets and bone loss. This is the type of cleaning known by dental professionals as Scaling and Root Planing (SRP)
FULL MOUTH DEBRIDEMENT
In cases in which there is extensive plaque and tartar build up that makes it impossible for the dental professional to measure gum pockets and to perform a proper oral examination, full mouth debridement (FMD) is needed. When performing a FMD, your Lake Worth dentist or hygienist will remove as much plaque and calculus as possible from teeth and gums. One important aspect of this is that it allows a better visualization and assessment of your teeth and gums. Therefore, after the assessment is completed, the proper dental cleaning type (regular or deep) will be determined. You could think of this as a pre-cleaning. Usually it is indicated in cases where the patient has not had a cleaning in a long time or maybe they just build calculus at a rate higher than expected.
PERIODONTAL MAINTENANCE
This procedure is a type of cleaning performed after a patient has undergone a deep cleaning. Once scaling a root planing is performed, the patient will return every 3 or 4 months. After the bacteria that attach the gums and bone is cleaned off the teeth, it takes them about 3 months to recolonize the area and again start harming it. This is why maintenance every 3 months is so important! As your dentist near you in Lake Worth will tell you, this is crucial for maintaining your bone levels. Otherwise, they will keep decreasing and eventually lead to tooth loss.Periodontal maintenance might be continued in different intervals as per directions of your caring dentist after determining your oral health.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO KEEP MY GUMS HEALTHY?
Caring for your dental health shouldn’t stop after your visit to our dental office. At-home daily brushing and flossing will stop plaque accumulation and thus, prevent calculus from forming around your teeth.
Our caring dentist near you will suggest at-home treatments and tips to ensure your optimal oral health. Keep in mind that caring for your dental health should be an ongoing process and that it is vital to follow the aftercare advice of your dentist here at Prestige Dental Care.
If you have bleeding gums and would like to be evaluated by a trustworthy dentist near you, call us today at (561) 965-3933 or click below for a consultation.