What are some gum disease treatments?

The type of treatment necessary will be directly related to the level or stage of the gum disease. Let’s look at the primary cause of gum disease, the stages it progresses through with the infection and then the treatment options to either reverse or stymie the advancement of the disease.

The Cause of Gum Disease

Every day each one of us has at least 100 to 200 species of bacteria in our mouth. The same mouth that is the gateway or portal to all of our nutritional needs. If that bacteria are allowed to sit on your teeth for any period of time it immediately forms a sticky substance called plaque. Therefore brushing your teeth is so very important. If the plaque comes in contact with the soft tissue of the gums it will infect the gums.

The First Stage of Gum Disease and the Treatment

47% of American adults over the age of 30 are guilty of having this first stage of gum disease called gingivitis. The gums start to swell and will change in color. The nice pink tissue will start to become a darker pink and even red. At this point the gum disease is easily reversible. If you think you might be experiencing this simply schedule an appointment with your dentist. An evaluation will confirm your suspicions. X-rays will show the dentist what is going on below the surface. The next step is to professionally clean your teeth removing all the bacteria carrying plaque. The effort may have to go below the gum line with a scaling tool making the root of the tooth smooth again to eliminate both the plaque and to make it more difficult for any plaque to adhere to the root. A prescribed anti-biotic will take down the swelling and the gum disease has been abated.

The Second Stage

If the gum disease advances your gums will begin to bleed and pull away from the teeth creating pockets. These pockets easily harbor food particles making it even easier yet for the infection to breed. At this point the scaling of the roots may have to take on a surgical nature to scale deeper. This stage is called periodontitis. Now the focus is on the regeneration of bone and tissue loss. You may have to wear a bite guard to stabilize a loose tooth and give the infected tissue a chance to heal.

Preventing Gum Disease

The prevention of the disease is all on you. The health industries strongly suggest you brush your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes each time. Now you can see why. They also want you to floss the hard to reach areas between your teeth to remove any plaque that the tooth brush can’t reach. A very good habit to create is getting in to see your dentist twice a year. The regular evaluations keep you in a state of prevention versus letting something get out of control. Take care of your mouth, teeth and your gums. It is just too easy.

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