What is periodontal disease?
Gum disease, also knowm as periodontal disease, is something that we're able to diagnose at a new patient exam, and sometimes we even catch it early if you're an existing patient coming in for routine cleanings and exams. We achieve this by taking very specific gum measurements in conjunction with the X-rays we take on a yearly basis.
These gum measurement readings indicate how deep your pockets are and where your bone level sits around your teeth. The larger the numbers on those readings, the lower your bone levels and the deeper your pockets are. This indicates irreversible damage to your bone, gums, and the ligament supporting structures around your teeth, which cannot be reversed but definitely needs to be managed and treated sooner rather than later.
How do I know if my gums are healthy? What will I notice if I have periodontal diisease?
There are three different categories of gum health: you can have totally healthy gums with nothing going on, just requiring a regular cleaning; you can have gingivitis, where your gums are inflamed, there is some bleeding but no bone loss or deep pockets; and the last option is periodontal disease, sometimes simply called gum disease. This occurs when you have so much inflammation that hard deposits form under your gums, creating more inflammation and bleeding, which eventually causes the bone levels around your teeth to drop. You might start noticing more bleeding when brushing and some dark yellow discoloration around the gum line.
What are the risks of waiting to treat gum disease?
It's really important for you to get the deep cleaning recommended for patients diagnosed with gum disease. There is a cascade of effects that can impact not only your oral health but also your systemic health, affecting the rest of your body. Long-term untreated gum disease can cause bone levels to drop so significantly that teeth start to get loose. Ultimately, patients may find their teeth falling out over the years.
During an exam, we often find that this is due to bone levels receding past the roots of the teeth, leaving teeth with nothing to hold on to. Consequently, you can lose all your teeth if gum disease is not treated.
What health conditions can cause periodontal disease?
Systemically, periodontal disease is closely linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's, and stroke risk, among others. Chronic inflammation, combined with a high volume of blood vessels in your mouth, allows bacteria to enter your bloodstream easily, circulating throughout your body and potentially having long-lasting effects on your oral and overall health.
What is a deep cleaning for gum disease?
If you're advised about needing a deep cleaning instead of a regular one, that type of cleaning is called scaling and root cleaning. Typically, we numb you to make the process more comfortable, as there's extensive cleaning under the gums where things are already tender. We use special instruments, medications, and irrigations to clean out all the hard deposits under the gums, allowing your tooth to have a smooth, clean surface for those deep pockets to reattach. Six weeks after completing your deep cleaning, we re-measure everything.
When a mouth is healthy again and treatment is successful, those pocket numbers should shrink, indicating that the cleaning has helped reverse your gum disease. Although bone levels will not grow back to cover more of the tooth surfaces, especially if there is some gum recession, the goal is to maintain everything as it is and prevent it from worsening.
How do I make an appointment with Smiles of Kiln Creek to review my gum health?
If you are diagnosed as having gum disease, you'll always be more vulnerable to the bone loss process reigniting. It will be more challenging to keep everything clean at home between six-month intervals. Therefore, we recommend gum disease patients come in more frequently so we can perform gum checks more often and clean some of those deeper, hard-to-reach areas to prevent deterioration. Ultimately, we strive to continue educating you and ensuring you're aware of problem areas, so we can keep your gums and bone healthy and save your teeth for the long term.
You’re never alone in caring for your dental health. At Smiles of Kiln Creek, our team is here to support and meet you where you are in your dental journey. Call (757) 996-4655 or email [email protected] to connect with us today.