When infections of the tissues surrounding your teeth and gums affect you, the condition is called gum disease. Gum disease is the foremost reason for tooth loss among adults in the United States. However, gum disease doesn’t cause pain; if you develop this infection, you might never realize it.
Periodontal disease is the alternative name for gum disease resulting from plaque buildup constantly developing on your teeth. You might notice the early warning signs of gum disease, including bleeding gums, foul taste, and lousy breath.
However, your permanent natural teeth might separate or loosen and cause variations in your teeth fitting together when biting, besides other problems.
Improper dental hygiene increases gum disease risks, including smoking or chewing tobacco, diabetes, pregnancy, genetics, medications, and challenges cleaning your crooked teeth.
When you observe the symptoms of gum disease in your mouth, receiving periodontal disease treatment significantly enhances the chances of better outcomes.
Why Is Getting Gum Disease Treatment Early Beneficial?
Seeking treatment for periodontal disease early from the Munster dentist is beneficial because the condition is reversible. In addition, getting professional cleanings from an experienced dentist and maintaining proper home care help eliminate the problem from your mouth.
Unfortunately, if you allow gum disease to progress to chronic periodontitis, delay in receiving the treatment triggers bone and tissue loss to enhance the severity of the infection. If you have periodontitis, your teeth start moving in the mouth, making tooth loss a reality.
However, if you receive gum disease treatment early, you can preserve your natural teeth and prevent the need to search for replacement options.
Periodontal and systemic diseases are associated, and research is ongoing to establish the reasons for the association. Gum disease bacteria can spread to your bloodstream to cause conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disorders requiring treatments from multiple medical professionals.
Different Stages of Periodontal Disease
Periodontal disease starts in different stages. They are:
Gingivitis: the mildest condition of gum disease is called gingivitis. You experience swollen, red, and bleeding gums if you have gingivitis. You might not experience any discomfort with this condition, but the dentist in Munster can detect the disease and help you reverse it with proper home care and dental cleanings.
Chronic Periodontitis: Inflamed tissues around your teeth besides progressive bone loss is a familiar problem with chronic periodontitis. You also experience gum recession and pocket formation with this condition. Chronic periodontitis can affect people of all ages but is routinely found in adults.
Aggressive Periodontitis: Aggressive periodontitis can also affect clinically healthy patients. Bone destruction and rapid gum recession are stranded features of this condition with familiar aggregation. In addition, periodontitis at an early age is associated with diabetes.
What Are the Treatments Offered for Periodontal Disease?
The dentist in Munster offers nonsurgical periodontal treatment to limit bacterial growth and prevent the damage caused by this condition. The options include proper home care by brushing, flossing, and having a nutritious diet.
Scaling and root planing on the most common treatments recommended in the early stages allow the dentist to eliminate plaque and tartar on your teeth and below the gum line.
Brushing and flossing are essential to eliminate plaque from your teeth. In addition, flossing helps remove plaque from between the teeth and below the gum line.
You receive help from specialized interdental brushes the dentist recommends as ideal for gum disease treatment. Using an electric toothbrush makes brushing more effective because their tinier heads brush efficiently to remove plaque from your teeth than a manual toothbrush.
Overcoming gum disease requires more than mere homecare. Dental visits every six months for a professional cleaning to eliminate plaque and tartar buildup on your teeth helps ensure gum disease doesn’t affect you.
Unfortunately, if you have severe periodontitis causing excessive gum recession and pockets between your teeth and gums, you might require gum grafting, which involves lifting your gums to remove tartar.
Gum grafting is a surgical procedure requiring sutures to permit your gum tissue to fit snugly around your tooth. The surgery helps reduce the pocket size to disallow bacteria from the infection to accumulate.
Saving your teeth from periodontal disease is not challenging so long as you detect the conditions and symptoms early and visit the dentist in Munster for exams and cleanings. Unfortunately, tooth loss is a foregone conclusion if you neglect the infection.
Family Dental Care — Munster provides excellent treatment to care for your dental health and prevent gum disease. They are also experienced in treating aggressive periodontitis. If you observe the symptoms of gum disease, do not delay the treatment but schedule an appointment with this practice today before the condition worsens.
