Gum diseases treatment

I was once crushing the bone of a chicken lap sometimes ago when I observed sharp pains around my gum. For few days, I was not able to chew properly and I was wondering what that could be. One morning while I was brushing my teeth, I observed that my gum was bleeding already. My brush was soaked with blood from the gum. It was then I knew I needed to visit my dentist. And before I could reach my doctor, after so many attempts, I discovered my breath had become offensive. The bad breath lasted for so many weeks until I was able to treat the mouth disease.

Gum disease (also known as periodontal disease) is a bacterial infection that eats the gum and sometimes the bones surrounding a tooth. It can affect as much as possible teeth. However, gum disease is in stages. They are:

• Gingivitis: This is the inflammation of gums due to plague on teeth, and is the earliest form of gum diseases. It is characterized by the swelling and redness of the gum. It rarely requires surgical treatment unlike some other diseases of the gum. Usually, it can be managed with a professional dental cleaning and adherence to good oral hygiene routine.
• Chronic periodontitis: This is the most common if full-fledged diseases of the gum. The most noticeable symptoms of this disease are when the gum begins to recede and pockets begin to form between the teeth and the gum. It usually occurs in adults than in children. Moreover, adults over 35 years of age are the majority individuals living with this disease.
• Aggressive periodontitis: It rarely occur in children, and in most cases, it only affects children of age 3 and below. An individual with this aggressive gum disease can lose affected teeth at age 20. However, there’s a common subtype of aggressive periodontitis called localized juvenile periodontitis commonly experienced in adolescents. It involves the over-colonization of bacteria in the gum pocket.

          Aggressive gum disease is also experienced by young children immediately after their primary teeth appear.

• Necrotizing periodontitis: This is the most severe of all the types of gum diseases. Also known as acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, it affects and destroys tissues, bones and ligaments in the mouth. It is the common type experienced by smokers and HIV/ AIDS patients.

• There’s a prolonged bad breath experience by anyone who has gum disease.
• Such person may experience pain while chewing food.
• The teeth become sensitive.
•  The gum becomes tender.
•  In some cases, the gum may start bleeding.
•  Gum becomes swollen and red.
• Unpleasant taste in the mouth.
•  Development of gap between teeth or irregular positioning of teeth.

Any of these signs may be a sign of gum disease. However, patients who experience any of these are advised to go to the Royal Palm dentist for examination.

Some gum diseases symptoms may not appear until the disease surfaces. Therefore, it is important for you to know some risk factors associated with gum disease.

• Smoking: Smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products can significantly increase your risk for gum disease.
• Genetics: Like every other hereditary disease, gum diseases can be genetically transferred and flow through a lineage.
•  Hormones: Some studies have revealed that hormones associated with pregnancy, menopause and puberty can greatly increase the risk of having gum diseases.
•  Stress: If the body goes through a lot of stress, it will be unable to fight infections such as gum diseases.
•  Sweet foods: Eating sweet foods can increase gum disease infection. It will create pores at the base of the gum where bacteria will sediment and may lead to tooth removal.
•  Diabetes: Diabetes can increase the risk of gum disease.

Periodontal diseases can be prevented by adding these habits to your daily routine.

• Brush your teeth after meal to remove food debris and plaque trapped between your teeth and gum.
•  Use mouthwash very often to reduce plaque.
• Flossing: Flossing your teeth will greatly help you to remove food particles between your teeth and along your gum lines where toothbrush can not reach.

At the early stage, gum disease does not require surgical treatment. The non-surgical procedures include scaling and root planning where plaque and tartar from beneath and above the gum line are scrapped away (scaling) and the rough spots left on the tooth are smoothen (planning). The process is to ensure removal of bacteria and provision of a clean surface for gums to be able to reattach to the teeth.

Generally, gum diseases are not curable. They can only be treated. Bleeding gums treatment, swollen gums treatment and gingivitis treatment only need medical and dental attention, they can not be cured, either temporarily or permanently. To treat gum diseases, patients only require to maintain a good oral hygiene with other additional medical and dental treatment when necessary.