Implications Of Periodontitis

How this advanced form of gum disease can harm your mouth.

As we have mentioned in previous blogs, there are two key stages to gum disease. Early stage gum disease is generally known as gingivitis, whilst the more advanced stage is known as periodontitis, and it is this that we will look at in today’s blog.

Periodontitis is a serious condition that is not easily treatable and can cause significant harm to your mouth. The tragedy is that it really should not get to this stage as prevention is relatively straightforward. A reasonably healthy diet, with no smoking, along with good personal care and 6 monthly appointments with the hygienist at our dental practice near Ashby should be enough to keep your gums in good health.

Unpleasant Symptoms

The symptoms of periodontitis are similar to those of gingivitis but are likely to be more advanced. Whilst the bleeding of gums following brushing your teeth is a well known sign of gum disease, it is far from the only one. Periodontitis sufferers may also have gums that are very red and inflamed and often very tender to the touch. Halitosis (bad breath) is also very common and also very unpleasant. Gum recession, revealing the tooth roots, may also occur. The most significant possible result of periodontitis though is bone loss in the jaw.

Bone damage and tooth loss

As the bacteria which causes periodontitis become more aggressive, the bone at the root of the tooth will progressively start to be destroyed. As this degrades, the bone may lose its hold on the tooth and loose, or wobbly, teeth are a very likely outcome. In many cases, patients with this advanced form of gum disease may even lose the tooth altogether.

Whilst treatment is available for periodontitis, in the form of a ‘deep clean’, this is a very invasive treatment that is nothing like the scale and polish which is used to treat gingivitis and during routine hygiene visits. In a deep clean, the teeth are cleaned to the roots of the tooth and any infected bone cleaned too. Even with this treatment, tooth loss may be unavoidable.

Tooth replacement options

If you do lose a tooth through periodontal problems, you may consider replacing it. Whilst a partial denture or a bridge are still suitable options, individual dental implant placement may present more of a challenge. Titanium implants require healthy bone structure, but if you have had periodontitis, this may no longer be possible without the need for a prior bone graft or sinus lift to provide the necessary bone density. Of course the gum disease must also be cleared up too.

As we noted earlier, gum disease is not hard to avoid, and adding a regular six monthly hygienist appointment to your oral health care list is an excellent way of helping to achieve this. If you would like to make an appointment with the hygienist at Alexandra Dental Care and live in the Swadlincote and Ashby area, please call us for an appointment on 01283 216347.

Google+