When gum disease progresses beyond gingivitis to become periodontitis and is not treated, it can cause the destruction of gum tissue, bone matter, tooth loss and the spread of bacteria and infection throughout your body. As if that weren’t serious enough, gum disease has also been associated with premature births, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even health conditions such as erectile dysfunction.
A 2014 article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine took a different tack and researched the impact of treating gum disease effectively. Researchers studied health and dental insurance records of 339,000 different people with periodontal disease and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, strokes, rheumatoid arthritis or pregnancy. Patients in that group who had received gum disease treatment near you also had, in the next four years, lower medical costs and fewer hospitalizations. The bottom line? Untreated gum disease can cause medical problems as diverse as tooth loss, erectile dysfunction and heart disease. Getting treatment for gum disease can save your teeth, save you money and reduce the amount of time you need to spend in hospital.
What is the connection between gum disease and health problems?
What links gum disease and this broad range of health issues? Bacteria present in your mouth when you are suffering from gingivitis or periodontitis trigger inflammatory responses in your gums and the other tissues in your mouth. Inflammation activates the release of chemicals from your body’s white blood cells to enter into your bloodstream where they fight infection and circulate throughout your body.
The activity of those white blood cells cause redness, warmth and swelling in the area of infection. The accumulation of those same inflammatory substances exacerbates heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid and other chronic health conditions.
What are the treatment options for gum disease?
There are non-surgical and surgical options for gum disease treatment in Silverado. 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.
Pocket reduction surgery is also called osseous surgery. The procedure is performed by a dentist near you in their office under local anesthetic. Your dentist will fold back your gum tissue and remove all bacteria before putting the gum tissue back into position and reattaching it to your teeth. If you have suffered severe bone loss depending on the progression of your periodontitis, a dentist near you may also perform a bone graft or guided tissue regeneration to restore bone tissue in your jaw before reattaching your gum tissue to your teeth. Just how long any particular procedure will take depends on the seriousness of your condition and how many teeth are being treated.
Gum disease is entirely preventable by diligently performing daily oral hygiene tasks consisting of brushing your teeth and flossing, attending dental checkups every six months and receiving all recommended dental treatment. If gingivitis does develop, it can easily be reversed by a thorough tooth cleaning by a dentist near you and a renewed commitment to oral hygiene. Unchecked gingivitis, on the other hand, will develop into periodontitis that will require specific gum disease treatment in Somerset to save your gums and teeth, and to save you from other serious and chronic medical health conditions.