Eighty percent of us have some form of periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection which attacks the gums and bone that support the teeth. Most adults over 30 display some form of periodontal infection.
Did you floss as a child? Probably not! We are teaching children to floss at four- to five-years old. Prevention is the real success in periodontal disease. Regular dental examinations for early diagnosis and treatment, oral hygiene instruction and hygiene visits are our most important tools towards keeping your teeth for a lifetime.
Periodontal disease is usually painless, and may develop slowly or rapidly. The key is to remove the “plaque” or bacteria from your teeth and gums. If this isn’t accomplished, the bacteria dies and the minerals in your saliva calcify the bacteria. This forms a hard barnacle on the root surface that cannot be removed with floss or a toothbrush. The bacteria produces toxins (poisons) that irritate the gums, then pass to the bone to melt it away. If enough bone is lost we loose the tooth. This is where your dental hygienist comes in. As the infection passes from the gums to the bone a regular dental “cleaning” is no longer effective. The bacterial infection is in the deeper crevices under your gums. This needs to be removed with specialized instruments on a frequent basis to curtail the bone loss. This is called periodontal therapy. The dental hygienist numbs you to keep you comfortable and removes the infection and dead bacteria from below the gum line. A regular “cleaning” is above the gum line. The goal is to get the tissues disease free and change the virulent, damaging form of bacteria to a gentler less damaging type. Your investment in this is to maintain your homecare at a level so to prevent further progression of the disease. On subsequent visits, the dental hygienist will perform periodontal maintenance by removing the dead bacteria from under the gum line to treat and preserve your achieved dental health. We also evaluate your dental health to identify any negative changes that could indicate a reactivation of periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease is the number one killer of teeth. Severe bone loss can infect nerves necessitating root canals and after enough bone loss has occurred we loose teeth. A long life expectancy is directly linked to the number of teeth present in your mouth.
For more information, please call 661-255-2545.