Hygiene and Periodontal Care: Don’t Let Gum Disease Steal the Health of Your Smile
Good oral hygiene does more good than keeping your smile beautiful. It’s a crucial component of your overall well-being, improving your physical and mental health. Good oral habits keep your smile free from cavities, decay, and bad breath. It also prevents periodontal disease, which damages your gingival (gum) tissues and puts your body at risk of systematic health diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
At Mint Dental, Dr. Kevin Pulsipher believes in educating our patients about periodontal care. We strive to help our patients maintain a healthy, pain-free smile for many years.
What is periodontal disease?
Failing to brush and floss your teeth leave food particles that mix with saliva and harmful bacteria to form dental plaque. Plaque forms an ideal breeding ground for harmful bacteria that causes gingivitis — an early stage of gum disease.
The symptoms of gingivitis include:
- Gum swelling or redness
- Gum bleeding, especially when brushing and flossing
- Tender gums
The early symptoms of gum disease seem innocuous, so many patients tend to brush them away. Unfortunately, when you don’t treat gingivitis, it’s only a matter of time before it advances to periodontitis. At this stage, the infection isn’t just on the surface of the gums — the infection penetrates beneath your gum tissue, and you may start experiencing receding gums and painful chewing. When you don’t take action at this stage, the disease progresses to full-blown periodontitis, damaging the surrounding bone. Advanced periodontitis causes chronic bad breath, uneven bite, and tooth loss.
Treatment of periodontal disease
Before starting treatment, we diagnose you to establish the extent of the infection. Typically, dentists use a periodontal probe to measure the depth between your teeth and gums (gingival sulcus). The sulcus depth typically falls within the 1-3 mm range in healthy gums. However, if the measurements exceed these parameters, it may indicate the presence of gum disease. Additionally, higher readings on the periodontal probe indicate a more advanced stage of gum infection.
Treating gum disease depends on the stage of infection. Mild gum infection (gingivitis) can be reversed with diligent brushing and flossing of teeth combined with professional cleanings. Moderate gum disease requires deep dental cleaning. This procedure involves scaling to eliminate plaque and tartar above and beneath the gum line. Then, the dentist smooths the tooth roots through root planing to discourage future bacterial growth.
Advanced periodontal disease may require advanced treatments, including flap surgery and bone and soft tissue grafting to restore gum health.
How to prevent gum disease
Our dental team believes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We encourage patients to prevent gum disease rather than wait to treat it. These are precautions you can observe to keep gum disease at bay.
- Brush twice a day
- Floss at least once a day, preferably before bedtime
- Consider an antimicrobial mouthwash
- Avoid smoking
- Keep your mouth hydrated
- Manage underlying diseases, like diabetes, that increase the risk of gum disease
Want to learn more about oral hygiene and periodontal care in Meridian, ID? Please call (208) 900-4669 to talk to Mint Dental. We’ll help you prevent or treat gum disease to keep your smile flourishing.
FAQs
Dental hygiene plays a crucial role in periodontal care. Regular brushing, flossing, and using mouthwash help remove plaque and prevent gum disease, which often leads to periodontal disease if left undiagnosed and untreated by Dr. Kevin Pulsipher and his team at Mint Dental.
Ideally, you should visit our team at Mint Dental for a routine check-up every six months. However, if you have symptoms of periodontal disease, such as bleeding or swollen gums, you should make an appointment promptly for a thorough evaluation. If periodontal disease is present, Dr. Kevin Pulsipher will recommend the best-suited periodontal services to restore oral health and wellness.
Untreated periodontal disease can lead to many other health issues. Research continues to show a link between periodontal disease and certain medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Talking to Dr. Kevin Pulsipher regarding your medical health and history can help him monitor your smile for signs of disease and decay that may put you at risk of other potentially serious health issues.
Regular brushing with fluoride toothpaste, flossing daily, using an antibacterial mouthwash, and maintaining a balanced diet can support one’s oral and overall health and wellness. Routine visits to Mint Dental for cleanings every six months or less are also recommended, as this time allows Dr. Kevin Pulsipher to monitor for signs of problems that may require treatment or further attention.
Early stages of periodontal disease, like gingivitis, can often be reversed with proper dental hygiene and professional treatment at Mint Dental. However, advanced stages may require more in-depth treatments, including surgery. Most cases of periodontal disease can be avoided with proper care and attention to one’s oral hygiene habits.
