What Is The Gum Diseases?

Periodontal disease, also referred to as gum disease or periodontitis, is a type of disease that occurs in the mouth. Gum disease is the result of a bacterial infection that destroys the gums, bones, and connective tissues that supports the teeth and holds them in place. It is important for you to maintain good oral health care in order to protect the health of your gums. Your gums are the first defense mechanism that you have to protect you from bacterial infections that occur in the mouth. Once the safety of the gums has been breached, bacteria will aim to attack the bones and tissue in your mouth.

During the later stages of periodontal disease, you will typically experience mouth sores, loosened teeth, halitosis (chronic bad breath), tender gums, swollen and painful gums, and spaces that occur between the teeth. Should you notice any of these symptoms, it could mean that the gum disease has progressed to a more serious stage. You need to seek dental care immediately if you notice any of these symptoms. Approximately 85 percent of the people living in the United States suffer from some form of gum disease ranging from mild to severe. Therefore, you are not alone.

Proper dental care is essential to preventing and combating periodontal disease. Be sure to practice good oral hygiene at home and have your teeth cleaned and checked by your dentist twice a year to ensure a healthy mouth.

You need to be aware of the signs of a periodontal disease in order to protect your mouth. Unfortunately, most people never know that they have the disease until it has reached the later stages. That is because there is typically no pain involved during the beginning stages of gum disease. In fact, the early stages of gum disease can go unnoticed if you do not know to look for slight bleeding when you brush your teeth, gum softening, and discolored gums that generally appear dark red rather than a nice healthy pink color. Some people mistake bleeding for brushing too hard.

If you have any of these symptoms, you should see your general dentist to have it checked out. Your dentist will do a few things to check for periodontal disease. He will take an x-ray to check for bone loss, examine your gums for signs of infection, and probe your gums to measure the depth of the pockets. Normal pocket depths are usually 1 - 3 millimeters, however, infected pockets can be much larger. Probing is very quick and often painless.

The best way to remove plaque from the gum pockets is to have a deep cleaning. This is also called scaling and root planing. In a deep cleaning, the dentist or dental hygienist will use instruments to remove calculus from both above and below the gumline. They will also smooth the root surface to prevent bacteria from staying there. Scaling and root planing is usually not painful, and if necessary, the dentist will numb the area before working on it.

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