Golden rules to prevent Gum Disease:
1. Twice daily thorough brushing
2. Daily cleaning between your teeth-
with either floss or interdental brushes
3. Regular visits with your dentist to
monitor your health
4. Regular visits with your hygienist for
maintenance cleaning
Gum Disease
Gum disease is an inflammation of the gum line that can progress to affect the bone that surrounds and supports your teeth. If left unchecked it will cause your bone to resorb and can eventually lead to tooth loss.
Gum disease is a preventable condition as it is caused by your bodies response to bacteria in the mouth.
If there is less bacteria by effective cleaning then gum disease will be less likely to occur.
Having said that, everybody reacts differently in response to bacteria. Your risk of getting gum disease can affect its severity.
Factors increasing your risk include:
- SMOKING
This is the most significant risk factor and if you smoke it is likely you will suffer from gum disease.
If you are contemplating quitting please visit
Help Me Quit for advice and support
- Genetics
Everybody will have an inherent risk of suffering gum disease. Some will never get more than reversible superficial inflammation, while some will loose their bone support in a matter of years.
- Pregnancy
- Systemic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease
- Stress
- Poor nutrition and obesity
Regular visits to the hygienist will reduce your risk of gum disease by having frequent tailored advice on oral hygiene techniques and regular removal of plaque retentive factors.
Gum Disease Therapy
Treatment of gum disease is mostly down to enabling you to have the knowledge and skills to effective clean your teeth.
If there is no bacteria present then gum disease will stabilise.
Having said that there can be barriers to home oral hygiene.
Once pockets have formed around your teeth you cannot clean these yourself and that is where treatment comes in.
We first remove any plaque retentive factors such as tartar or overhanging fillings.
Next we carry out full mouth disinfection by a thorough below the gum line clean using ultrasonics, hand scalers and irrigation. This can be uncomfortable and may require local anaesthetic.
This will then give you a clean slate to start effective home oral hygiene and hope that your body responds well and begins to heal.
Maintaining life long good habits are key to life long healthy gums.
