More information about Gum Disease

When it comes to oral care, it’s important to take care of more than just your teeth. You need to ensure that every aspect of your mouth is healthy, including your teeth, jawbone, cheeks, tongue and gums. If you aren’t taking proper care of your oral health, you can suffer from different ailments. Without proper care for your gums, you may begin to suffer from is gum disease.

What Is Periodontal Disease?

Periodontal disease (also known as gum disease) is an accumulation of plaque, tartar and debris below the gum line that causes inflammation. This disease begins to eat away at the bone tissue holding your teeth in place—causing the teeth to become loose and eventually even fall out. It can also do pretty severe damage to the jawbone overall if left untreated.

Different Stages of Gum Disease

It’s important to understand that there are multiple stages of gum disease—each leading to more damage than the last. If you are able to catch periodontal disease in its early stages, the gums, teeth and jawbone can be saved. If it advances too far, though, the dentist will need to see what kinds of reparative services they can provide to save as much of the gums, teeth and jawbone as possible.

Here are the three main stages of periodontal disease:

Early Periodontitis

The least severe form of gum disease is early periodontitis. Patients with early periodontitis may notice something wrong with their gums, and other small issues with their oral hygiene (including bad breath). At this stage, though, the disease is treatable. If early periodontitis is still in its earliest stages, all that may be necessary is a proper cleaning and then ongoing at-home care. If early periodontitis is a little more advanced, a dentist may need to consider other options, such as a deep cleaning. While this is an additional, more in-depth procedure, it still is relatively minor.

Moderate Periodontitis

At this stage, the gum disease has become more advanced and is causing serious damage to the bone tissue and gums. A patient can expect a more in-depth oral health procedure to save the teeth, gums and jawbone. They also may have experienced damage that cannot be reversed.

Advanced Periodontitis

At this point, a patient’s has experienced damage to their gums, teeth and/or jawbone that cannot be repaired. The teeth may be loose or falling out. They may even need to be pulled. This is the worst case scenario, and needs to be avoided.

Signs to Look Out For

In order to ensure that you get the help you need to avoid the advancing of periodontal disease, you’ll want to look out for these signs:
Bleeding Gums
Red and Swollen Gums
Irritated Gums
Receding Gum Lines
Pus
Loose Teeth

If you notice any or all of these signs, make sure to set an appointment with your dentist to have them take a look.
With proper at-home care and regular trips to the dentist, gum disease can be properly treated or even avoided entirely.

For more information on dental checkups and periodontal disease consider contacting Baer Dental Designs today.

If you'd like to read further on Gum Disease, here's some information on how to cure it.