When you get sick with something, you want a cure: a treatment that will completely rid your body of the infection. However, not all diseases can be cured entirely. Gum disease, for instance, is a chronic condition and does not have a permanent cure. It does, however, have effective treatment that can save your smile! To learn more about gum disease and its treatments, keep reading!
What Is Gum Disease?
Gum disease, which is sometimes referred to as periodontal disease, consists of bacterial inflammation in the mouth. Although the harmful bacteria start by irritating the gum tissue, it impacts your teeth as well as health systems well outside the oral cavity, if left untreated. In fact, years of research have found that gum disease increases the risk of heart disease, poor diabetes outcomes, Alzheimer’s and dementia, kidney disease, and more!
How Can You Get Gum Disease?
More than half of American adults already have an advanced stage of gum disease, which means it’s common and not difficult to contract. It originates from having bad bacteria in your mouth that produces acids that make your gums red, puffy, and easy to bleed. Later in development, gum disease causes gums to pull away or recede from your teeth, exposing your teeth roots and jawbone. The bacteria then infect the jawbone and degrade its density and the support it gives to your teeth. As a result, gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults in the entire world!
How Is Gum Disease Treated?
At a certain point, gum disease can be stopped and even reversed. However, after that, it can simply be managed. During the initial stage—called gingivitis—when your gums are still red and swollen, strong oral hygiene at home, which consists of brushing and flossing every day, as well as regular professional dental cleanings can undo the damage thus far.
Later stages may come with irreversible consequences, but with treatments like scaling and root planing (deep cleanings) and topical antibiotic therapy, your natural teeth can still be saved and protected. Even if you do end up losing one or more real teeth, today’s replacements can restore your smile after gum disease is treated.
Technically, once you get gum disease, it can come back a little bit more easily than if you can prevent it altogether. That’s why continued care at home and with your dentist is so important! With active prevention or diligence and proper maintenance, you can avoid gum disease or at least keep it under control and truly limit the impact it has on your smile and body.
About the Practice
In terms of services, Beach Dental addresses just about every dental need in the Westhampton office. Dr. Jason Parli and Dr. Alexis Gersten have decades of experience treating patients of all ages, including geriatric patients with complex problems. Whether you want to save your existing teeth or need to replace them with dental implants, let us show you how rewarding dental care can be. We welcome patients from all our surrounding areas, including East Quogue, East Moriches, Manorville, and Westhampton Beach. Call us at 631-325-0731 or visit our website to set up an appointment.