Nearly half of all Americans over the age of 30 suffer from gum disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dentistry places so much emphasis on the health of your teeth that it’s easy to overlook the importance and health of your gums. Completely avoidable periodontal disease presents in two main forms, one treatable and reversible and the other potentially destructive of gum tissue and bone matter unless treated effectively.
Gingivitis
Gingivitis is the initial and milder form of periodontal disease. Gingivitis presents as reddened and swollen gums. The most common symptom of gingivitis is one that almost all of us are familiar with — bleeding gums after brushing our teeth or flossing. Gingivitis is not usually painful and, if detected at this stage, can usually be reversed with a thorough cleaning by your dentist in Edina and a renewed commitment on your part to diligent daily dental hygiene.
Periodontitis
If left untreated, gingivitis can worsen and present as periodontitis. There are four primary ways that the staff at a dental clinic near you will assess the risk of and diagnose periodontitis: reviewing your medical history; examining your mouth for apparent accumulations of plaque and tartar and easy bleeding; measuring the pocket depth of the groove between your gums and teeth using a dental probe; and using dental x-rays to detect bone loss in areas where pockets were measured at their deepest.
Periodontitis develops as increasing amounts of plaque are permitted to accumulate on and near your gums. Plaque contains and produces toxins that are destructive to the gum tissue. Over time, your gums will recede. That means they’ll pull away from your teeth towards the interior of your jaw. As the gums recede, they reveal pocket-like structures where more plaque can accumulate and more destructive acids can degrade ever more sensitive sections of your teeth and their roots below your original gum line. Those pockets become breeding grounds for more and more bacteria, the presence of which accelerates and worsens the progress of the infection. Left unchecked, periodontitis will advance to the point that it destroys both gum tissue and bone matter. Once sufficient gum tissue and bone matter are destroyed, your teeth will lack sufficient support to remain in place securely (or at all).
What, then, are the long-term risks of unchecked periodontitis? In a couple of words: Tooth loss. Even worse than that, though, studies have indicated an apparent connection between periodontal disease and the occurrence of cancer. Men with periodontal disease have been shown to have a 49% greater risk of developing kidney cancer and a 54% greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Treatment options for periodontitis
Depending on the progress of your infection and the damage done to the gum tissue and bone matter, periodontal treatment in Edina includes non-surgical and surgical options for periodontitis.
Non-surgical options for treating periodontitis include: scaling to remove tartar and bacteria above and below your gums; root planing to smooth root surfaces to discourage the accumulation of tartar and bacteria and to remove bacterial matter; and antibiotics to control the infection.
Surgical options for periodontal treatment near you include pocket reduction surgery in which roots are exposed for scaling and root planing and to recontour the bones; soft tissue grafts to reinforce receding gum tissue; bone grafting to replace bone destroyed by periodontitis; guided tissue regeneration to encourage the growth of replacement bone matter; and the application of proteins to disease tooth roots in gel form to stimulate tissue growth.
If you’re concerned about the health of your gums, arrange an appointment with a dentist in Edina at your earliest opportunity while your options for periodontal treatment are minimally invasive and most likely to succeed.