The Prevention of Gum Disease

Why Check Ups at your local dentist are Important for Gum Health.

Whilst most of us clean our teeth on a regular basis and feel that we do enough to keep our teeth in reasonable shape at the very least, many of us also ignore another factor which contributes significantly to our oral health, and that is the health of our gums.

We probably see our gums as just yet another part of our body and something that just partially covers our teeth, however, the reality is that our teeth actually go much further down than we can see and actually deep into the gums. Because of this, it is also important to keep our gums clean. This will help to prevent gum disease which could also affect our teeth and, if neglected, the bone in our jaw too.

Gum Disease is Common but Preventable

In fact, it is estimated that around half of us will have gum disease as some point in our lives. This figure may appear scary but the reality is that gum disease is easily treated if caught early on, and in most cases, can be corrected simply by an improvement in our brushing and flossing techniques.

By visiting Alexandra Dental Care on a regular basis, we are able to monitor the gum health of our patients and treat any that we find, quickly and effectively to prevent gingivitis from becoming a significant problem.

Early Signs and Stages of Gingivitis

Early signs of gum disease (gingivitis) include bad breath, soreness of the gums or some bleeding when cleaning your teeth. Whilst a one off bleed may mean that you have simply caught your gum on a rough part of a brush perhaps, more often than this may indicate gum disease and you should make an appointment to see us as soon as possible. At the early stage, simply looking after your teeth and gums in the way that we advise, may be sufficient to correct the problem.

If this early detection is missed however, slightly more action may be required, for example an enhanced program of visits to our resident hygienist. The most common procedure is sometimes known as a ‘scale and polish’ or a ‘clean and polish’. This involves the removal of built up plaque which is actually a hardened layer of the bacteria which attacks the teeth and gums. This is done using a specialist tool and whilst not painful, can feel a little unpleasant. In some cases a local anaesthetic may be used depending on the level of work required.

If the gingivitis is allowed to advance however, it can cause serious damage which includes attacking the bone structure which supports the roots of our teeth. This will eventually lead to the teeth having no support and may eventually fall out. Because of the lack of bone left too, even replacing a lost tooth with a dental implant will mean that a bone graft would be needed beforehand.

With more advanced gum disease, it is necessary to perform a deep clean. This is similar to the ‘clean and polish’ but involves going deep under the gum line. As you would expect, this is not a pleasant procedure and is done using a local anaesthetic. This may require the services of a specialist periodontist.

Prevention is Better than the Cure

The fact remains that gum disease, whilst common, is easily prevented or treated in its early stages and there should be no need for a deep clean to be performed. Simply by making sure that you visit our dental practice regularly, gum disease should not be an issue and can be treated easily and painlessly so long as it is caught early enough and not allowed to advance to a stage where serious problems can occur. We are pleased to accept patients from the Burton, Ashby and Swadlincote areas.

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