Gum Disease And Tooth Loss
Gingival problems are sometimes underestimated and can have devastating effects.
If you are reading this blog, you probably take a keen interest in keeping your teeth in good health, avoiding erosion and tooth decay. You may even choose to have them whitened by one of the cosmetic dentists at the Cygnet Dental Practice in Wickford. If you do look after your teeth well, then this is a good start to having an overall healthy mouth, but it isn’t the end.
Despite the amount of advertising on TV and in other areas, some people still don’t seem to fully appreciate that you need to keep your gums clean as well as your teeth. Perhaps some of the adverts may not have helped with actors spitting a little blood into the sink. We suspect that some people may think “well, it’s just a bit of blood”. Although this is an unpleasant symptom, along with others like halitosis, it isn’t always the obvious and visible issues that are the main problems, but what is going on deeper beneath your teeth.
How likely is gum disease?
The likelihood is that everyone will have some form of gum disease at some point in their life, at least for a short period of time. This is because bacteria collect around the gumline and can be difficult to remove from certain areas. There may also be times when we are ill and perhaps don’t brush and floss as we should do. In most cases, we won’t even notice any symptoms and improved brushing will resolve this problem. For problems that build over a longer period, a six monthly scale and polish provided by our Wickford dental hygienists should help restore your gums to good health, hopefully with no long term ill effects.
While we all need to look after our gums well, there are certain people who should take extra special care, including possibly having a professional clean by the hygienist every three months instead of six monthly as is sufficient for most of us. This group of people may include smokers, diabetics and others with weakened immune systems that are less able to fight bacterial growth in the oral cavity.
How serious can it get?
Many of you will be familiar with gum disease symptoms such as bleeding gums, bad breath, sore or inflamed gums and even pus between the teeth. These are unpleasant and often uncomfortable problems indeed. Any early signs of this should be dealt with promptly as if allowed to worsen, even bigger problems are likely to be not very far away.
While the above symptoms are certainly best avoided, the most significant problem with gum diseases is as it advances to a stage we call periodontitis. This is where the bacteria have not only attacked the soft tissue of the gums but also collected around the root of the tooth and the underlying bone tissue. When this happens, the bacteria attack the bone and cause it to erode and weaken. As the tooth root is situated in this bone, it can start to work its way loose and, if not treated quickly, can cause the tooth to fall out.
Prevention is key
If you leave things until you start to notice a tooth becoming loose, there is only one course of action left and that is to have a ‘deep clean’ or ‘root planing’. This is an invasive procedure which attempts to remove the bacteria from the bone and tooth root in the hope that it will retain the tooth. This can be uncomfortable and even this procedure is not guaranteed to save your tooth.
You should certainly contact the Cygnet Dental Practice if you notice any earlier symptoms such as bleeding from the gums when brushing your teeth. Early intervention should be able to prevent the problem from becoming more serious.
When you brush your teeth, you should make a point of angling the bristles towards the gums. This will help the bristles to reach into the gums and remove bacteria and food particles which may have become trapped there. The bristles should be healthy and not worn and should be replaced every three months. You should also use dental floss as there are areas that a toothbrush will not reach, especially between the teeth.
In addition to any physical cleaning of your teeth, there are habits which can contribute to gum disease, the worst of these being smoking. If you smoke, then you are at a high risk of gum disease problems. Excessive alcohol consumption may have a similar effect.
Finally, gum disease is just one of the reasons why you should see both a dentist and a hygienist every six months for monitoring and any early intervention that might be needed. You will receive a scale and polish at your hygiene appointments which is a non-invasive treatment that will remove tartar, a hardened form of bacteria and minerals which attach to the teeth and gum line. This helps not only to minimise the risk of gum disease but also will leave your teeth both looking and feeling much cleaner.
If you have not seen a dentist or hygienist for a while, now would be a good time to change all that. If you call our friendly dentists on 01268 733078, you can start to get your oral health back on track, including not only your teeth but your gums too.