Often, people consider their oral health to be separate from their overall health and well-being. After all, how can the state of your teeth impact the rest of your life? Unfortunately, what these patients don’t realize is that their oral health is inextricably linked to their overall well-being. With a direct impact on both your body and mind, it’s best to keep your smile happy and healthy! However, when gum disease strikes, maintaining your smile’s health becomes significantly more challenging. Gum disease is an infection of the tissues in your mouth, which eventually affects your teeth and bone structure. As the infection spreads, you may find that reversing the effects of gum disease becomes difficult, or even impossible! Severe gum disease causes irreparable damage to your smile, but with the help of a professional, you can manage your symptoms and prevent the spread of infection.
What Causes Gum Disease?
Gum disease, or periodontitis, is a bacterial infection that often begins at the gum line. If left untreated, the infection will spread across your smile, affecting your gum and bone tissues. As it spreads, the infection becomes more severe, eating away at your surrounding jawbone and potentially causing tooth loss!
Gum disease may occur for a few reasons, including:
Poor oral hygiene: At East Longmeadow Family Dental Center, we recommend brushing your teeth at least twice a day, flossing or using a water flosser, and attending routine dental visits. Without these vital steps in your oral health routine, bacteria will accumulate in your mouth, gathering and spreading infection.- Genetic predisposition: Some individuals are genetically predisposed to gum disease, meaning their genes increase their likelihood of developing this infection. If a patient has a genetic predisposition to periodontitis, we recommend taking extra good care of their smile.
- Certain risk factors: In combination with poor oral hygiene or a genetic predisposition, individuals with specific risk factors are more likely to develop gum disease. These risks include those who smoke, have autoimmune diseases, diabetes, or even heart disease.
Reversing the Early Stage of Gum Disease
The earliest stage of gum disease is gingivitis. This stage is most often characterized by red, swollen, and bleeding gums.
However, most importantly, gingivitis is reversible! With proper treatment and a rigorous oral hygiene routine, we may be able to both stop the infection from spreading and reverse the damage that has already occurred.
Most often, treatment for the earliest stage of gum disease involves frequent professional dental cleanings to remove all traces of infection. Although similar to regular cleanings, reversing gum disease requires a more thorough treatment, as we can reach areas of your teeth that you cannot access with a toothbrush.
In addition to professional cleanings, you MUST take responsibility for better at-home care! Maintaining an oral hygiene routine is crucial for reversing the effects of gum disease, as the infection will recur if you don’t adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Is Reversing Severe Gum Disease Possible?
Unfortunately, not everyone catches gum disease early, especially since its symptoms are often easily overlooked. If you’re struggling with receding gums, discomfort or pain, and deep pockets where the gum tissue is pulling away from your teeth, you’re likely experiencing periodontitis.
Periodontitis is a more severe form of gum disease that develops when gingivitis is left untreated. This infection affects not only your gums, but also your jawbone! Without treatment, your gums will recede, exposing your tooth roots and allowing bacteria to erode the surrounding bone.
Because your tooth roots anchor your smile into your jawbone, loss of bone may result in loosening teeth. Eventually, untreated periodontitis will result in tooth loss.
While professional cleanings help patients like you manage your symptoms, reversing the effects of severe gum disease is unfortunately impossible. Lost teeth and bone don’t grow back, creating a variety of issues for your oral health.
However, even in severe cases of periodontitis, there is still hope! With comprehensive gum disease treatment from professionals like those at East Longmeadow Family Dental Center, you can manage your symptoms and prevent the infection from worsening.
We offer scaling and root planning, which involves reaching below the gum line and removing plaque and tartar from the tooth roots. Then, we use specialized dental tools to help reattach the gums to your teeth. In some cases, we may use certain medications designed to treat infections. While we can’t reverse any bone or tooth loss you experience, we can help prevent bacteria from spreading.
Keep Your Smile Happy and Healthy at East Longmeadow Family Dental Center!
Your oral health is crucial to your overall well-being, so maintaining a healthy smile is essential! When gum disease strikes, we can help you reverse its effects, but only in the early stages. Severe gum disease is often irreversible, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prevent it from worsening. With professional cleanings and treatment, you can halt the spread of infection in its tracks and keep your smile happy and healthy!
If you believe you’re experiencing gum disease, visit East Longmeadow Family Dental Center to book a free consultation and begin treatment as soon as possible.
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