Did you know the most common cause of tooth loss in adults is gum disease? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in two adults over 30 in the United States has periodontal disease. The good news is that periodontal disease is almost entirely preventable. At Miller Center Dental, we offer a comprehensive range of services to help patients maintain optimal periodontal health and enjoy a smile that looks, feels, and functions at its best.
What is periodontal disease?
Periodontal disease, or gum disease, is a set of inflammatory diseases affecting the periodontium, the hard and soft tissues surrounding and supporting your teeth. Like tooth decay, it is caused by harmful bacteria in dental plaque and tartar that accumulate around the teeth and under the gums.
Since periodontal disease often progresses without pain, you may not be aware of it. For this reason, it’s essential to practice good oral hygiene and schedule regular checkups, professional cleanings, and routine care.
Taking care of your smile includes being mindful of the signs and symptoms of gum disease.
Some indications that you may have periodontal disease include:
- Inflamed and red gums
- Bleeding when brushing or flossing
- Receding gums and exposed tooth root surfaces
- Sensitivity to hot or cold temperatures
- Bad breath or a bad taste in the mouth
- Teeth that feel loose
- New spaces developing between the teeth or a change in the bite
- Change in the fit of existing partial dentures.
- Discharge around the teeth and gums
- Sharp or dull pain when biting down or chewing food
The Importance Of Good Oral Health
Taking care of your smile does more than keep your teeth and gums healthy; it also supports systemic health. Besides being the leading cause of tooth loss in adults, researchers are finding increasing links between periodontal disease and medical problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and respiratory issues.
At Miller Center Dental, we emphasize the importance of prevention, early detection, and timely treatment of periodontal disease. We provide patients with the guidance, support, and care required to maintain optimal periodontal health.
What is gingivitis?
Gingivitis is the initial stage of gum disease. Although it often causes no discomfort and goes unnoticed, there are signs to watch for. If your gums bleed when you brush, look red and inflamed, or feel tender, you likely have gingivitis.
The good news is that treating gingivitis early can help avoid the tissue damage associated with more advanced stages of gum disease. Despite inflammation, the overall integrity of the periodontal tissues in this stage remains intact.
Treatment at this point is often enough to reverse the disease and prevent permanent damage to periodontal tissues. Deep dental cleanings, improved home care, and regular maintenance may be all that is needed to stop progression.
What is Periodontitis?
When untreated, gingivitis can progress to a more advanced and damaging stage called periodontitis. At this stage, the connective tissue and bone holding the teeth begin to break down. As periodontal disease advances, tissue loss increases. Damage often includes deeper pockets between teeth and bone, gum recession, and bone loss. As periodontitis worsens from mild to severe, it increasingly compromises the tissues supporting the teeth.
Periodontal treatment at this stage aims to halt disease progression and, to the extent possible, restore tooth support. Treatment may include medications to control bacteria and reduce pocket size, gum surgery, and bone or tissue grafts.
Let Us Help You Maintain Optimal Periodontal Health
At Miller Center Dental, we offer personalized, state-of-the-art solutions to help you maintain healthy gums and an attractive, well-functioning smile. As skilled providers of care, we utilize leading-edge technology and treatment methods to address a broad range of periodontal conditions and needs.
Thanks to advances in care, periodontal treatment today not only helps to halt the progression of gum disease but also delivers effective solutions, including bone grafting and regenerative procedures to repair tissue damage, restore bone volume, improve cosmetics, or provide adequate support for the placement of dental implants.
How is gum disease treated?
The type of periodontal treatment you receive depends on factors such as the disease stage, tissue damage, overall oral health, medical conditions, and other care considerations. After a thorough assessment, we’ll discuss options to restore and maintain optimal periodontal health. We welcome your questions and are always available to provide guidance and address concerns.
Periodontal treatment can be categorized in the following ways:
Non-Surgical Periodontal Treatment
When periodontal disease is detected early, conservative or non-surgical care combined with improved hygiene can restore periodontal health. Periodic professional cleanings help maintain patients’ oral health and prevent gum disease. Once gingivitis is present, deeper cleanings and possibly other non-surgical treatments are recommended.
The American Academy of Periodontology emphasizes achieving periodontal health through the least invasive, cost-effective treatment approaches. Deeper cleanings, including scaling and root planing, are non-surgical procedures that are the first step in preventing the progression of periodontal disease.
Non-Surgical Procedures
Scaling and root planing carefully remove plaque and tartar below the gumline and smooth the root surfaces. Since periodontal disease is an inflammatory response to these agents, removing them can halt its progression. Antimicrobial medication placed under the gumline or systemic medications may also be used to further reduce bacteria.
If non-surgical approaches to managing periodontal disease do not achieve the desired outcome, surgery may be recommended to halt its progression and repair damage as much as possible.
Periodontal Surgery
When gum disease advances beyond the initial stage, periodontal surgery is often recommended to remove bacteria and tartar around the teeth, reduce pocket depth, restore lost tissue to the extent possible, and halt disease progression. Gum disease is progressive. Without proper care, it continues to compromise tooth support and affects overall dental health and well-being.
As untreated gingivitis progresses, periodontal pockets deepen, bacteria become harder to remove, and gaps between tooth and gum widen. When pocket depth exceeds 5mm, beyond the reach of deep cleanings and conservative care, gum surgery is usually recommended to clean and treat damage to gums and bone.
With proper surgical treatment and improved oral hygiene, the risk of tooth loss, further damage to bone and soft tissues, and complications associated with periodontal disease can be reduced.
Pocket Reduction Surgery
The goals of pocket reduction surgery are to remove sub-gingival bacteria beneath the gums and from the surfaces of the roots of the teeth, and to halt damage to the underlying bone and recontour the affected hard tissues as needed. Another goal is to reduce pocket depth to facilitate easier cleaning of teeth and gums and to maintain optimal periodontal health.
Flap Surgery
In many cases, flap surgery is recommended. During this procedure, the gums in the affected area are lifted away from the teeth and supporting bone. This allows thorough cleaning of pockets and roots and recontouring of supporting tissues as needed. Afterward, the tissue flap is sutured back into place.
Today, alongside conventional surgery, dental lasers are used for select periodontal procedures. When applicable, laser technology can treat periodontitis, reduce pocket depth, address peri-implantitis, and remove or reshape gingival tissues for cosmetic purposes.
Gum Disease FAQs
How Common Is Gum Disease?
Most people don’t realize that periodontal disease is the leading cause of tooth loss among adults. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every two adults over the age of 30 in the United States has periodontal disease.
What Causes Gum Disease?
The human mouth harbors a wide variety of microbes, including over 700 bacterial strains. Some are beneficial, but others harm oral health. Without proper hygiene and routine dental care, harmful bacteria can cause tooth decay and gum disease, compromising oral health and overall well-being.
Are There Other Risk Factors for Periodontal Disease?
Besides poor oral hygiene and infrequent professional care, factors like smoking, genetics, and uncontrolled diabetes can contribute to worsening periodontal disease.
Why Are Healthy Gums So Important?
Your gums and teeth have an interdependent relationship, so healthy teeth depend on healthy gums. Taking care of your smile does more than keep your teeth and gums healthy; it also supports your overall health. Besides being the leading cause of tooth loss in adults, researchers are finding increasing links between periodontal disease and medical problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, respiratory issues, and adverse pregnancy outcomes like preterm and low birth-weight babies.
What Are The Symptoms Of Gingivitis?
If your gums bleed when you apply slight pressure while brushing or flossing, it’s a sign of gingivitis. Although the earliest stage of gingivitis can be easily reversed with deeper cleanings and improved home oral hygiene.
What Happens If Gum Disease Progresses?
In the absence of professional treatment and adequate home care, gingivitis progresses to periodontitis. At this stage, the connective tissue and bone that hold teeth begin to break down, leading to deeper pockets, gum recession, and bone loss. Without treatment, periodontitis can progress from mild to severe, leading to the destruction of bone around the teeth. While gingivitis can often be reversed with improved hygiene and cleanings, advanced periodontal disease requires more extensive procedures to stop progression. After a thorough assessment and review of contributing factors, we will recommend the best care. Treatment for periodontitis may include deeper cleanings like root planing and scaling, surgery to reduce pocket depth, bone or tissue grafts, laser procedures, or antimicrobial medications.
How Much Does Periodontal Treatment Cost?
The cost of care depends on the procedures needed to restore your periodontal health. If you have dental insurance, it often covers preventive care and many treatment procedures. Our goal is to help patients restore and maintain good oral health. We do all we can to help you start care without stress or delay. Our business office works with you to maximize benefits and offer easier, more convenient payment options.
What Is The Best Way To Prevent Gum Disease?
By visiting our office regularly for care and doing your best to eat a healthy diet and practice good oral hygiene, you can keep your smile in tip-top shape and protect your overall well-being.
Why Choose Miller Center Dental?
Our commitment to our patients and their well-being, and to providing compassionate, skilled care, makes us the natural choice for you and your loved ones. For more information on our office and the many services we provide, give us a call today.