What is a periodontal disease?
Gum diseases and their treatments
Bleeding gum during brushing? Swelling and pain? These warning signs should be taken seriously since they may be the symptoms of a serious disease!
Parodontium is the tissue that surrounds and fixes the teeth - if it’s healthy, its colour is ‘pleasantly’ pink. It’s never swollen and there’s no pain at all - although some blood may appear after using dental floss.
However, we can quickly wave goodbye to healthy gums if the oral hygiene is inadequate. Bacteria start to proliferate because of bad oral hygiene and they make gums irritated and inflamed.
Unfortunately there is no other option in this case: sooner or later bad oral-care habits lead to painful times.
Gum starts to recess from the dental neck, little pockets are formed between the teeth and gums which is ideal for even more bacteria to settle down.
Stages of periodontal diseases
Gum bleeding indicates the beginning of an inflammation which may lead to serious periodontitis or osteonecrosis.
Because of gum disease, teeth become loose then fall out. Furthermore, inflammation is dangerous for all of our body since it may generate unpleasant symptoms and it might lead to serious consequences.
Gingivitis itself might evolve if you omit brushing your teeth for 1-2 days but there’s a good chance to eliminate the problem if you thoroughly and regularly clean your teeth including the interdental spaces.
But as time goes by, our chances are deteriorating.
Facts and reasons
Periodontal disease is a serious condition but we can stop it if we start to treat the symptoms on time and eliminate the causes of the inflammation.
The first step is to visit a dentist if you have bleeding gums!
In no case should you ignore this step or you must face severe risks that threaten your health and smile.
Gum bleeding might have multiple origins, such as:
- vitamin deficiency
- diabetes
- gastrointestinal diseases
- osteoporosis
- or inadequate teeth cleaning habits
Other predisposing factors are smoking, stress and improperly made dentures - in the latter situation we should be afraid of plaque settled down on the surface.
Effects of periodontal disease on the organism
Gum disease is a condition characterized by inflammation that has a negative impact on the whole body and significantly burdens the immune system.
The main cause of inflammation is the accumulated plaque near the gums which then transform into tartar. Since bacteria are always present, the gum becomes swollen and hurts or bleeds when you bite on something or brush your teeth. These vulnerable gums are thus exposed to viral infections which might generate a severe condition that is harder to handle.
Periodontal diseases accompanied by foul breath might also deteriorate your quality of life.
Is it really worth procrastinating your visit to the dentist and complying with appropriate oral hygiene habits? We don’t think so.
Treatment of periodontal disease
At home
Gingivitis can be successfully treated by brushing your teeth regularly and thoroughly. Choose a soft and densely bristled toothbrush since it does not injure your sensitive gums yet it efficiently cleans your teeth.
Interdental cleaning is of paramount importance - do it at least once a day with dental floss and interdental brushes.
Interdental brushes are available in many sizes that perfectly fit in the gaps between your teeth. Thus, no matter how tight your teeth are, you’ll surely find a matching one. Oral irrigator is less widely used despite being very useful - with regular usage, you can prevent plaque on your dental neck from mineralising (becoming tartar). This way, these areas won’t be a substratum for bacteria.
At the dentist
Parodontium is the tissue surrounding and fixing the teeth including the gums. Healthy gums are always easy to recognize since their colour is pink.
The most important step towards recovery is to remove plaque every six months, in more serious cases it is also necessary to clean the area under the gums with dental curette. The latter - in combination with antibiotic treatment - effectively cures periodontal disease at its preliminary stage since all parts of the tooth (the whole surface, roots and tissues) get rid of bacteria.
The curettage and pocket cleaning treatment is always implemented during anaesthesia and we only clean the inflamed part of the gum. This painless therapy can be supplemented by a curettage with laser light which promises an even more effective recovery.
It is important to bear in mind that we can only slow down periodontal disease in its late stage but at one point, tooth loss is inevitable.
Therefore it is much better if we put an emphasis on prevention in order to avoid possible treatments later on.
2x3 minutes per day
Yes, you should only take that much time for brushing your teeth and you’ll be able to avoid periodontal disease. You can also prevent having tartar with a daily, thorough interdental cleaning.
If despite all of the above your gums are swollen and bleeding, please consider going to the dentist more than just every six months!
A lot of patients only visit the dentistry when his/her tooth is already aching although almost every dental problem is preventible on time.
In such cases, you should immediately book a consultation so that dentists can start the necessary treatment as soon as possible.