Periodontal Care
Stuart, FL
Periodontal diseases affect the underlying tissue that supports the gums and teeth and essentially cause them to decay. It essentially can cause the destruction of the gums, alveolar bone, and the outer tooth root. The loss of the teeth is often common when dealing with things such as periodontitis. While periodontal diseases are extremely common, they are preventable and are often caused by poor dental hygiene.
The practice of periodontal care can not only save your teeth and gums; it can also save you a large amount of money that might be spent on trying to save your teeth. The underlying benefits of practice good dental hygiene far outweigh the amount of money that is saved by not practicing it or going to the dentist. Our experienced dentist here at Colin M. McKinney, DMD can give you a dental exam and take preventative measures to avoid periodontal diseases.
Periodontal Diseases: What to Look For
The symptoms will vary from person to person when suffering from periodontal diseases. Normal gums will be a pale, pink color that is firm and fit tight to the teeth. Symptoms of periodontal diseases include swollen or puffy gums, bright red or purplish gums, tender gums, gums that bleed easily, gums pulling away from the teeth, spaces developing between the teeth, pus between the teeth and gums, pain when chewing, loose teeth, and bad breath. While these are all of the symptoms of periodontitis diseases, there are many different types of periodontitis, but three seem to be more common than the others.
Chronic periodontitis is considered the most common type to have. It mostly affects adults and is caused by plaque buildup around the gums. It begins to deteriorate the gums slowly and could worsen or potentially get better over time. Another common type is aggressive periodontitis, and although it is considered common, it only affects a small number of people.
Usually detected in childhood or early adulthood, it tends to be genetic and will create rapid bone and tooth loss if it goes untreated. The last most common type of periodontitis is a necrotizing periodontal disease. Essentially, this is the death of gum tissue, tooth ligaments, and bone due to the lack of blood supply to these areas. It will cause severe infection and most commonly will affect people with suppressed immune systems.
How to Prevent It: Periodontal Care
Periodontal care, just like regular dental hygiene, requires regular visits twice a year, or every six months to our dentists. While regular trips to our dentist will benefit tremendously, doing every day things can not only help the periodontal disease you may already have, but it may prevent it as a whole. Doing things like brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes at a time and flossing at least once a day prevents plaque build-up and sensitive gums. Certain risk factors may leave you at a higher risk of these diseases, and they include gingivitis, age, substance abuse, genetics, diabetes, arthritis, and obesity. If you suffer from any of these conditions maintaining good oral health is crucial to not having periodontal diseases.
To learn more about periodontal care and to make an appointment, please call Colin M. McKinney, DMD at (772) 266-2223 to speak with one of our dentists. |
