What is gum disease?
Gum disease is a condition that can affect the gums and the bones around your teeth. This can also be called periodontal disease. It can progress in three main stages, Gingivitis, periodontitis, and advanced periodontitis.
- Gingivitis
- the gums can appear puffy red tender, and there may be a bit of bleeding.
- Gingivitis is basically inflammation of the gums.
- It's caused by plaque.
- Plaque being a thin layer of the food you eat and the bacteria that naturally live in your mouth. Your bacteria that live in your mouth feed on the food and make toxins which irritate the gums and produce these symptoms. If the plaque is left undisturbed for long periods of time and we're not brushing and flossing regularly, it may progress onto the second stage. Plaque left undisturbed for long periods of time becomes a chalky crusty deposit called tartar or calculus.
- This becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, and can really do a lot of irreversible damage and destroy both bone and gum tissue around the teeth.
- Periodontitis
- In the second stage of gum disease, the gums can also appear very red, puffy and tender, and there will also be bleeding.
- But the real differentiation between the first and second stage can only be really picked up by your dental professional, where they can measure how deep the gum pocket is around the neck of the tooth.
- Anything over 4mm deep is classified as periodontitis.
- If this remains untreated it can progress
- Advanced Periodontitis
- If this remains untreated, it often can quite quickly lead to advanced periodontitis because you don't feel any pain or discomfort in a lot of the different stages of gum disease.
- It's often nicknamed the silent disease.
- So it's important you come in for your six monthly clean and check so you can prevent this from progressing.
- And the third stage of gum disease is where you may experience more advanced symptoms where teeth become loose or mobile, or you have possible blood spontaneously coming out of the gum.
The best way to prevent gum disease is to ensure you floss and brush every day and coming to seeing your dentist every six months or so. Preferred dental provider will check the state of your gums and make sure they're cleaning away any areas of plaque or tartar that can contribute to poor gum conditions.
Your dental provider will also let you know any areas where you may be missing regularly when you're brushing and flossing and help coach you into optimal plaque control. If you find yourself with advanced periodontitis, don't worry, your preferred provider will help suggest different treatment options to figure out what works best for you.
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