Gum health is an important component of a healthy appearance, and you can keep your teeth healthy by brushing, flossing or using another interdental cleaner between your teeth, and visiting your dentist on a regular basis. All of these factors are vital in preventing dental problems.

What Is Gum Disease?

Gum disease wreaks havoc on the tissues that hold your teeth in place, causing them to detach from the tooth. It can affect merely the soft tissue around your teeth—the gums—or it can spread to the bone that sustains your teeth. Gum disease can lead to tooth loss in severe circumstances.

Plaque is the cause of gum disease. Plaque is a bacterial film that occurs on everyone’s teeth at some point. This bacteria can harm your gums and teeth, so brushing and flossing between your teeth should be done every day. Calculus is a material formed when plaque hardens along the gum line. Only a thorough cleaning by a dental professional assistant can eliminate calculus. The dentist or dental hygienist will scrape the solidified calculus and debris from along and beneath your gum line with a specific instrument during the cleaning.

Gum disease symptoms include red swollen gums, bleeding gums (when brushing or cleaning between your teeth), gums that appear to have peeled away from the teeth, constant poor breath, pus between your teeth and gums, loose or moving teeth, a shift in the way your teeth fit together when you chew, and a change in the way your partial dentures align.

Gum disease can be minor, moderate, or severe. Gingivitis is a mild form of gum disease. Gingivitis is characterized by red, puffy gums that may or may not be sensitive. Your gums may bleed during this period if you brush or clean between your teeth. When the disease spreads to the supporting bone, pockets might form, allowing additional bacteria to grow. Plaque is trapped in these crevices by any calculus that forms. Personal hygiene will not be able to eradicate this plaque (brushing and flossing).

Gum disease that has progressed requires proper cleanings that go underneath the gum line. For these cleanings, your dentist may consult a specialist known as a periodontist.

How Can You Maintain Dental and Gum Health?

• Brush your teeth twice a day to avoid gum disease
• Clean between your teeth once a day with floss or similar interdental cleaning
• Regularly visit your dentist for a checkup and professional cleaning
• Show your dental professional hygienist how you brush and clean between your teeth
• Stop smoking or chewing tobacco

Gum disease can be exacerbated by illnesses such as AIDS or cancer, which limit your body’s ability to fight infection. Diabetes patients are also more likely to suffer gum disease, according to certain studies. Anti-seizure and blood pressure medications, for example, can harm your gums. Hormonal fluctuations, such as those that occur during pregnancy, are also particularly sensitive to the gums. As a result, it is critical for pregnant women to visit their dentist.

Daily oral hygiene and regular dental appointments can help keep your mouth healthy. In addition to your dental health and hygiene habits, tell your orthodontist about your overall health, personal habits that can damage your health, such as tobacco use, and medication use. Contact us for more information and request a free consultation.