Skip brushing your teeth for just a day or so and you will have a nice case of gingivitis. Your gum tissue is extremely vascular. Your immune system is designed to protect you from invading bacteria. The blood vessels around your gums (where the bacteria lies) become enlarged so that your immune system can go out into your mouth and kill the bacteria.
Notice how red the margins of the gums are. They bleed easily. At this stage, the bone around your teeth is not affected. This is very early gum disease. It is very treatable with oral rinses and by improved brushing and flossing. See your dentist or hygienist today if your gums bleed easily when you brush or floss.
Non Surgical Gum Care
Signs of Gum Disease
Gum disease causes you to lose the bone around your teeth. As the bone is lost around your teeth, the ability of your gum tissue to attach to the bone is lost as well. Because of all the infected inflammation of the gum tissue, the gums may appear “to be at their proper height” around a tooth, but it is only an illusion.
Gum disease is treated by removing the biofilm around the tooth so that your immune system stops reacting to the bacteria. This is accomplished with the following:
- Mechanical removal of the biofilm by a dentist or hygienist
- Chemical removal using oral rinses
- Chemical removal with carbamide peroxide
- Antibiotic therapy
- Improved home care
- Vitamin therapy
- Control of diet: limiting high fats and carbohydrates
- Smoking cessation
- Control of diabetes
More teeth are lost in the United States due to gum disease than due to decay. It is a silent problem. It usually is painless. It is a problem that requires diligent follow-up and monitoring.
