Gum Disease

Gum disease (periodontal disease) is an infection of the tissues that surround and support your teeth. It is a major cause of tooth loss in adults. Because gum disease is usually painless, you may not know you have it. Here are some warning signs that can signal a problem: gum that bleed easily, red, swollen, tender gum, gum that have pulled away from the teeth, persistent bad breath or bad taste. There are two stages of gum disease. During gingivitis, the first stage, the disease will only affect the soft tissues, or gums. Periodontitis, the second stage is more severe and will spread to the bone that supported the teeth.

The causes of Gum Disease:

Plaque is the primary cause of gum disease. Nevertheless, there are some below contributing factors to periodontal disease:

• Hormonal changes, eg., pregnancy, puberty, menopause, and monthly menstruation, make gums more sensitive and easier for gingivitis to develop.
• Illnesses may affect the condition of your gums: diabetes affects the body's ability to use blood sugar, thus patients with diabetes are at higher risk of developing infections, including periodontal disease and cavities. Cancer or HIV interfere with the immune system and those patient are at higher risk of developing infections, including periodontal disease.
• Medications can affect oral health, eg., the anticonvulsant medication Dilantin and the anti-anginadrug Procardia and Adalat, can lead to abnormal growth of gum tissue.
• smoking make it harder for gum tissue to repair itself.
• Poor oral hygiene, e.g, not brushing and flossing everyday, make it easier for gingivitis to develop.
• Genetic factor or family history of dental disease can be related to the development of gingivitis.

Prevent Gum Disease

Gum disease in the early stage (Gingivitis) can be reversed and the progression of gum disease can be slowed down or stopped when proper plaque control is practiced.  Those measures include daily brushing and flossing and professional cleanings at least twice a year. Brushing eliminates plaque from the surfaces of the teeth that can be reached; flossing removes food particles and plaque from in between the teeth and under the gum line.  Antibacterial mouthrinses can reduce bacteria that cause plaque and gum disease.

Other health and lifestyle changes that will decrease the risk, severity, and speed of gum disease development include:

• Quitting Tobacco use. Smoking is a significant risk factor for development of periodontitis. Furthermore, smoking can lower the chances of success of some treatments.
• Stress . Stress may impair your body's immune system to fight off infection.
• Keep a well-balanced diet. Balanced nutrition benefits your immune system fight infection.
• Avoid clenching andgrinding your teeth (bruxism). Excess force on the supporting tissues of the teeth from clenching teeth could promote destruction of support tissue.

Some people are genetically susceptible to gum disease: despite following good oral hygiene practices and making other healthy lifestyle choices, still up to 30% of Americans may be likely to develop some form of gum disease. If your family members have history of gum disease, you are probably at greater risk for gum disese, as well. For those people, your dentist may recommend more frequent check-ups, and cleanings to better control gum disease.

Gum Disease contributing to Other Health Problems?

In healthy people with normal immune system, the bacteria in the mouth can make its way into the bloodstream with harm to body. But under certain circumstances (e.g., congenial heart disease), certain oral bacteria are associated with health problems. Uncontrolled diabetes contribute to gum disease, in the other hand, gum disease may increase blood sugar level.

Treatment for gum disease includes professionally cleaning the pockets around the teeth (nonsurgical therapies) to control bacterial growth and prevent damage surrounding bone. Advanced cases may require surgery to restore supportive tissues when gum disease cannot be repaired with nonsurgical options.

Non-surgical Treatments for Gum Disease

• Prophy / regular basic cleaning. During a regular checkup, prophy will be performed to remove the plaque and tartar/caculus (plaque that builds up and hardens on the tooth surface) from above the gum line of all teeth.  If you have some signs of gum disease, professional dental cleaning more than twice-a-year will be advised. Dental cleanings are not a treatment for active gum disease. They are, however, an important measure that can prevent its development.
• Deep Cleaning (Scaling and root planning). Under a local anesthetic, plaque and tartar are scraped away (scaling) from below the gum line and rough spots on the tooth root are smoothed (planing).

Surgical Treatments for Gum Disease

• Flap surgery/pocket reduction surgery. Under a local anesthetic, after the gums are lifted back, the tarter is removed and irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed.
• Bone grafts. By using fragments of your own bone, synthetic bone, or donated bone, bone defect destroyed by gum disease will be restored.
• Guided tissue regeneration. This procedure stimulates bone and gum tissue growth.
• Bone surgery. Following flap surgery, the bone around the tooth is reshaped to makes it harder for bacteria to collect and grow.

Medication for Gum Disease

• Antibiotic treatments can be used either in combination with non-surgery and surgicala therapies to reduce the bacteria linked with gum disease.
• Chlorhexidine (Peridex) is also used to control plaque.
• Doxycycline, tetracycline, and minocycline may also be used to treat gum disease.

About Sunshine Smile Dental at Lewsivlle

Sunshine Smile Dental is at 101 E Southwest Parkway Suite 103, Lewisville, Texas 75067.  The goal of Sunshine Smile Dental is to provide affordable quality dental care to the families of Lewisville and surrounding areas (Coppell, Flower Mound, etc).  Thus,  Sunshine Smile Dental at Lewisville offers a full range of dental services to adults and kids (>6 months old), as well as procedures of endodontics (root canal), periodontics (gum), wisdom tooth extraction, implant, clear aligners & Braces, and pedodontics (child).

Sunshine Smile Dental at Lewisville is in-network with most PPO insurances (complete list): Aetna, Assurant, BCBS, Cigna, Delta Dental, Guardian, Humana, MetLife, Principal, Sun Life, United Concordia, United Healthcare, etc.  We also accept kid CHIP and Medicaid (Dentaquest, MCNA, and TMNP). Additionally, emergency dental service is available.

 For details about our services, please contact us by 469-630-1369 or visit us 101 E Southwest Parkway Suite 103, Lewisville, TX 75067. Follow us on Facebook, Tweeter, Google+, and YouTube