What is gum disease?
Gum disease is a condition of infection and swelling of the tissues supporting the teeth. There are two types of gum disease: gingivitis and periodontal disease.
What is gingivitis?
Inflammation of the gums is called gingivitis. Gingivitis occurs when the gums around the teeth becomes red and swollen. This may even cause bleeding of swollen gums while brushing the teeth.
What is periodontal disease?
Long-standing gingivitis can lead to periodontal disease. There are various types of periodontal disease and all of them affect the tissue that supports the teeth. As the periodontal disease gets worsened, this may cause loss of the bone supporting the teeth in the jaw. This results in the tooth becoming loose. If periodontal disease is not taken care of, the teeth may eventually fall out.
Causes of gum disease:
All gum diseases are caused by plaque. Plaque is the layer of bacteria that forms the surface of teeth every day. While some of the bacteria is harmless, others may be the prime cause behind gum disease. To prevent gum disease, it is crucial to remove all the plaque from the teeth every day. This can be done by cleaning and brushing the teeth every day with “inter-dental” brush or floss. If the plaque is not removed, it can harden and form tartar or calculus. The supervision of dental professional care is necessary to take care of gum disease.
Effects of smoking on gums and teeth:
Smoking can worsen the condition of gum disease. People with smoking habit are more likely to develop bacterial plaque. Smoking causes lack of oxygen and affect gums adversely. Smoking causes the gum disease to worsen at a faster rate than those who are non-smokers.
Treatment of gum disease:
There are various treatments for gum disease, depending on the stage of the disease. Surgical and non-surgical treatments can be opted for to treat gum disease. Non-surgical treatment of gum disease includes:
- Professional dental cleaning:
Your dentist can remove the plaque and tartar on your teeth from above and below the gum lining. The dentist can even suggest professional dental cleaning more than once, depending on the condition of the disease. Though dental cleaning is not a solution to treat gum disease, it is a preventive measure that can combat its development.
- Scaling and root planning
Scaling is a non-surgical, deep cleaning procedure that is performed under local anesthesia. In this procedure, the tartar and plaque from the tooth are removed . The rough spots from the teeth are also smoothened by root planning and scaling treatment.
Surgical treatment of gum disease includes:
- Bone grafts: This procedure involves using fragments of your synthetic or donated bone to replace the bone that is destroyed by gum disease. Grafts ensure stability of teeth and fixes the issue of gum disease.
- Flap surgery: In this procedure, gums are lifted and tartar is removed from the teeth. Flap surgery reduces the space between the tooth and the gum allows the bone to re grow and provide support to the teeth.
- Bone surgery: This surgical procedure smoothens the craters on the teeth due to advanced bone less. Bone surgery makes it harder for bacteria to grow around the teeth.