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What is periodontal disease?
The word periodontal literally means "around the tooth." Periodontal diseases are serious bacterial infections that destroy the attachment fibers and supporting bone that hold your teeth in your mouth. Left untreated, these diseases can lead to tooth loss.
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Is some bleeding of the gums normal?
Bleeding gums are one of the signs of gum disease. Think of gum tissue as the skin on your hand. If your hands bled every time you washed them, you would know something was wrong. There are a number of other warning signs of gum disease.
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What are periodontal pockets?
Your bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth like a turtleneck around your neck. When you have periodontal disease, this supporting tissue and bone is destroyed, forming "pockets" around the teeth. Over time, these pockets become deeper, providing a larger space in which bacteria can live. As bacteria develop around the teeth, they can accumulate and advance under the gum tissue. These deep pockets collect even more bacteria, resulting in further bone and tissue loss. Eventually, if too much bone is lost, the teeth will need to be extracted.
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Is periodontal disease genetic?
Research proves that up to 30% of the population may be genetically susceptible to gum disease. Despite aggressive oral care habits, these people may be six times more likely to develop periodontal disease. Identifying these people with a genetic test before they even show signs of the disease and getting them into early interventive treatment may help them keep their teeth for a lifetime.
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What can I do to prevent periodontal disease?
To keep your teeth for a lifetime, you must remove the plaque from your teeth and gums every day with proper brushing and flossing. Regular dental visits are also important. Daily cleaning will help keep calculus formation to a minimum, but it won't completely prevent it. A professional cleaning at least twice a year is necessary to remove calculus from places your toothbrush and floss may have missed.
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Does increased age affect periodontal disease?
Your chances of developing periodontal disease increase considerably as you get older. More than half of people aged 55 and older have periodontitis. The good news is that research suggests that these higher rates may be related to risk factors other than age. So, periodontal disease is not an inevitable part of aging. Risk factors that may make older people more susceptible include general health status, diminished immune status, medications, depression, worsening memory, diminished salivary flow, functional impairments and change in financial status.
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What are the things that I should watch out for?
If you notice any symptoms of periodontal disease, including: gums that bleed easily, such as during brushing or flossing, red, swollen or tender gums gums that have pulled away from the teeth, persistent bad breath, pus between the teeth and gums loose or separating teeth, a change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite.
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How is periodontal disease diagnosed?
The dentist will examine your gums, check to see if there is any gum line recession, assess how your teeth fit together when you bite and check your teeth to see if any are loose. The dentist will also determine the depth of spaces, known as periodontal pockets. This helps to assess the health of your gums. Radiographs (x-rays) may be used to show the bone levels between your teeth to check for possible bone loss.
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How is periodontal disease treated?
Advanced gum disease is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults. Bone loss is severe and there are gum abscesses. The infection is severe and painful. Infected gums with bone loss is known as periodontistis and is a very common form of gum disease. In the advanced stages the gums pull away from the teeth, and bone is lost, a person will experience pain and the teeth become loose. Periodontitis is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Antibiotics will only temporarily relieve symptoms unless the causes of the pockets and bone loss are eliminated and corrective surgery restores normal health gums further down the tooth. In recent years, conservative, non-surgical, therapy has been recognized as an effective way to control infection and to allow for natural healing. These conservative procedures include "scaling" and "root planing" with special instruments. If damage is severe and infection is not controlled by conservative treatment, surgery may be required. The damaged support structure, the gum and bone, is reshaped around the tooth. This results into the elimination of pockets. Patient cooperation with daily home care is essential to maintain healthy gums and to keep periodontitis from returning.
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