September in the U.S. Is Gum Care Awareness Month
Taking proper care of your gums is the first way to ensure they help provide you with a healthy mouth throughout your life. The second way is to stay alert to the signs of possible gum disease and act promptly and accordingly to treat it if it does appear. The two main types of gum disease are gingivitis and periodontitis.
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Gingivitis - The First Stage of Gum Disease
The early, mild form of gum disease, gingivitis takes place when bacteria and plaque accumulate in the mouth, producing irritation, inflammation, and infection.
Although most of the bacteria in the human mouth is normal and safe, some is not. Some bacteria is harmful and needs to be removed before it can cause damage to the mouth and the body at large. This bacteria, if left in the mouth, can form an almost invisible, sticky, film on the teeth known as plaque. Without regular, thorough cleaning, that plaque and the bacteria it contains can produce an infection in the gums, or gingivitis. Most cases of gingivitis occur due to poor personal dental hygiene habits.
Gingivitis doesn’t usually cause pain or discomfort, so it can be hard to know when you have it. If your gums are red and swollen or quick to bleed, however, then you might have it. One way to know for sure is to check with your dentist in Burke.
Most times, you can successfully handle gingivitis with relative ease on your own, though those efforts are greatly enhanced with a dentist’s aid. If you don’t treat gingivitis promptly and thoroughly, however, then you can develop periodontitis, a more severe kind of gum disease that will require your dentist’s more attentive and intensive attention.
Gingivitis Risk Factors
Certain factors can increase your chances of acquiring gingivitis, namely if you:
- Are pregnant or experience different hormonal changes linked to oral health, such as taking birth control pills or going through puberty or menopause
- Take poor care of your teeth
- Have crooked teeth that are difficult to clean thoroughly
- Are diabetic or don’t have your diabetes regulated or under control, as diabetes puts you at higher risk for acquiring an infection
- Have a genetic predisposition to gum disease (ie. it runs in your family) as it can be hereditary
- Smoke or chew tobacco, as that increases your chances of infection
- Take certain medications that reduce salivary flow, like anti-epilepsy and anti-cancer drugs, antihistamines, antidepressants, oral contraceptives, blood pressure medications and calcium channel blockers
Gingivitis Symptoms
If you have gingivitis, you may develop:
- Bad breath that doesn’t disappear even after you brush your teeth
- Easily bleeding gums, especially when you brush
- Redness and swelling of the gums
- Sensitive gums to extremely cold or hot foods
Gingivitis Treatment
While you can often manage gingivitis on your own, it’s always wise to inform your dentist in Burke if you notice any of the above symptoms. That way, your dentist can help you determine what stage of gum disease you’re experiencing, how far it has progressed and, given that, what the best approaches to treatment may be.
In general, most cases of gingivitis can be completely reversed by simply adhering to a complete, basic oral hygiene regimen. This includes brushing your teeth two times per day, flossing once and seeing your dentist for recurring cleanings and dental exams.
Gingivitis Prevention
By simply practicing good daily dental hygiene and seeing your dentist at regularly scheduled intervals, you can completely prevent gingivitis.
Call us today to set up a checkup in Burke and find out if you have any early indications of gum disease.
Periodontitis
If gingivitis goes untreated, however, that plaque in the mouth can harden into tartar, also known as calculus, which is much harder to remove. Tartar can trap even more bacteria, aggravating the gum disease even further until it eventually transitions from the most mild and benign stage of gum disease to the next and much less mild and benign: periodontitis.
Periodontitis Risk Factors
The risk factors that increase your chances of acquiring periodontitis are the same as those for gingivitis (eg. smoking, diabetes, certain medications, etc.)
Periodontitis Symptoms
A severe gum inflammation, periodontitis is marked by symptoms of more intense gum redness, swelling and bleeding with tenderness, soreness, discomfort and even pain now associated with it.
The inflammation will also cause air pockets to form between your gums and teeth. These pockets trap bacteria, which then flourish and thrive there, causing infection to develop beneath the gum line. As the body’s immune response kicks in to combat the infection, it starts breaking down the bone and tissue keeping the teeth in their proper places. As a result, if periodontitis isn’t promptly treated, it can lead to losing teeth.
Periodontitis Treatment
How a dentist decides to treat periodontitis depends on how severe the condition has become. Your Burke dentist may perform a deep cleaning of the teeth and gums in order to remove all the plaque and tartar that have built up. In more serious cases, the dentist may perform some type of oral surgery. One type is root planing, which they may perform with a laser, to eliminate the rough patches on the roots of your teeth. Another is scaling, which scrapes the tartar off from below and above the gum line.
Whatever treatments your dentist performs, you can help it to be more effective and long-lasting with your daily oral health care routine.
Periodontitis Causes and Prevention
Periodontitis occurs as a result of untreated or improperly treated gingivitis. Since proper oral care is the way to prevent gingivitis, it is also the logical way to prevent periodontitis.
To protect your gums from gingivitis and periodontitis call us in Burke to set up your next oral checkup and cleaning.
