Periodontal disease impacts millions of smiles, with half of adults ages 30 and older suffering from the disease. Without treatment, this could lead to negative changes to your smile’s appearance, as well as tooth loss. In today’s blog, your Pella, IA, dentist talks about the steps we take to help our patients avoid periodontal disease.
The Common Causes of Gum Disease
The disease begins as inflammation, also known as gingivitis. Gum inflammation could occur due to improper brushing and flossing habits, combined with a diet high in sugar and starch. These factors create plaque buildup that irritates and inflames the gums. Using tobacco products, taking certain medications, and the presence of an inflammatory illness are also factors, as is a family history of the disease. Without treatment in the gingivitis stage, the gums pull away from the teeth to form pockets, which disease-causing bacteria enter. The patient then develops the disease and will require care to manage it and avoid major complications, such as adult tooth loss.
Treatment in Our Office
Our team could conduct a deep cleaning, also known as a scaling and root planing. The procedure involves the use of an ultrasonic scaling device and a manual pick to remove buildup from the teeth, and to smooth the surfaces of the roots. We also remove harmful buildup from beneath the gum line and destroy bacteria deposits too. The process could take one visit, or as many as four, depending on the severity of your plaque and tartar buildup. After we remove the buildup, we polish the teeth to make it more difficult for plaque and tartar to adhere to the surfaces in between cleaning visits. This also brightens your smile too!
Management From Home
In between your cleaning visits, you should take time to brush your teeth for two minutes when you wake up and again before bed, and to floss thoroughly before you brush the second time in the evening. These actions remove food particles that would otherwise feed harmful bacteria, limiting the severity of plaque and tartar buildup until you see us for another treatment. You also help by rebuilding the amount of sugar and starch in your diet, and avoid tobacco products too. These steps also help fight other oral health issues, such as tooth decay.
If you have any questions about how we improve the health and beauty of your smile with a scaling and root planing, or about preventing or managing gum disease, then contact our team today to learn more.
SCHEDULE YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT SOON!
We would like to help you maintain a strong and healthy smile, which means care to prevent or manage periodontal disease. Give us a call at Allen & Neumann Family Dentistry in Pella, IA at (641)628-1121.