Are you under the impression that gum disease only affects people of your grandparents’ age? Think twice. You would be astonished to know that even teens and young adults can get gum disease. It can lead to simple problems like embarrassing bad breath to severe issues such as tooth loss.
Gum disease or gingivitis is an inflammation of your gums caused by bacterial infection. If this oral disease is untreated, the condition might become severe, leading to periodontitis.
Periodontitis and gingivitis are the two major causes leading to tooth loss especially in older adults. According to the American Dental Association, both these are the most common gum problems prevalent in adults. Oral infections can add up to both your overall health and your wallet as well.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ stats, Americans spent more than $130 billion on dental services in just one year. Here we provide an overview of the impact of different types of gum disease on your oral health and the risks involved.
What is Gum Disease?
The earliest stage of gum disease is often known as gingivitis. The condition often leads to the inflammation of your tissues surrounding and supporting the teeth. This condition happens as a result of poor dental hygiene.
Gum disease is a widespread condition and has been seen to vary widely in severity. It is characterized by swollen, red gums that bleed easily while you brush and floss. Note that gingivitis is not the same as periodontitis.
Gum disease typically starts when food debris mixes with bacteria and saliva in your mouth, forming plaque on teeth that sticks to the teeth surfaces. From the very beginning, if you do not forcefully remove plaque on teeth by brushing with toothpaste, it can become mineralized. At the end, forming calculus or tartar, a hard coating on your teeth. Tartar is very hard, and only your dentist can remove it as it requires professional teeth cleaning.
Dental plaque and tartar accumulated on your teeth consist of harmful bacteria, and if they are not removed, they might begin to irritate your gums and cause gingivitis. If you leave them untreated, gingivitis will extend further from your gums to the bone leading to periodontitis.
What is the Difference Between Gingivitis and Periodontitis?
While gingivitis is the initial stage where you have only the inflammation of your gums around the teeth. On the contrary, periodontitis occurs when the bone below your gums is inflamed and infected.
Periodontitis is derived from the word periodontal, meaning “around the tooth”. It often refers to the structures that surround and support your teeth, such as the bones and gums and the bones.
When the underlying bone of the affected teeth gets infected, the gums will start to recede away. As a result, the formation of deep gum pockets will be formed. This is known as attachment loss. These pockets can readily collect bacteria and plaque. Why? Because these pockets are very difficult to keep clean, you might have more bone loss.
As your periodontal disease progresses into later stages, you may start to have more bone tissue loss. The existing gum pockets will also become deeper. Finally, your teeth may become loose and fall out.
What Causes Gum Disease?
If you do not take care of your oral hygiene, bacteria in plaque and calculus will settle on your teeth. Which, in the long run, will infect the gums and will become the primary cause of gum disease. Besides, these other factors could also increase your risk of developing gingivitis or gum disease.
Outlined below are some of the most common risk factors:
1 Smoking or chewing tobacco prevents the healing process of the gum tissue.
2 If you have overlapping, rotated, or crooked teeth it might create more surface areas for plaque to accumulate on your teeth. It will become harder for you to keep clean.
3 Hormonal changes that occur, especially during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, often correlate with a rise in gum disease. The increase in hormones in women causes the blood vessels in your gums to be more susceptible to bacterial and chemical attacks. At puberty, the prevalence of gum disease ranges between 70%-90%.
4 Alcohol will have a negative effect on oral defense mechanisms.
5 If you are undergoing cancer treatment, it can make you more susceptible to infection. As a result, the person has a higher incidence of gum disease.
6 Mouth breathing can prove to be harsh, especially on your gums, when your lips do not protect them. It can cause chronic inflammation and even irritation.
7 Diabetes mellitus is so dangerous that it impairs blood circulation and also your gum’s ability to heal.
8 Another important thing – stress decreases your body’s immune response to bacterial invasion. Hence try to be stress-free.
9 Poor nutrition, like a diet high in carbohydrates and sugar and low in water might increase plaque formation. A deficiency of important nutrients such as vitamin C can impair the healing process.
10 Certain medications can also help increase the risk for gum disease.
11 Poor saliva production could be another cause.
12 Infrequent or no dental care can also be responsible.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Gum Disease?
A person is suffering from gum disease, then the person will typically have one or more of the following symptoms:
- Swollen, bright red gums that might bleed very easily. Especially when you brush and floss your teeth.
- You might have persistent mouth odor or a bad taste.
- White spots or plaques on the gums.
- Your gums will look like they are pulling away from the teeth.
- You can see pus formation between gums or interdental spaces.
- You might also notice loose teeth or tooth loss.
As your gum disease progresses, various complications may arise. If gum disease advances to periodontitis, you might develop receding gums. In such a case, the root of your tooth starts to uncover due to the shrinking process.
Deep pockets may also develop around your teeth within these diseased gums. Resulting in food, plaque, and debris getting trapped between the teeth.
Once periodontitis starts to develop, you might lose gum tissue or bone around your affected teeth. Finally, your affected teeth might become loose or fall out. These changes might develop very slowly or could develop very rapidly. Loose teeth might affect either a few teeth or your entire mouth.
If oral hygiene is never maintained or your mouth becomes immune to gum problems, acute problems in the gums can arise. It is a painful condition where your infected gums swell, pain, ulcerate, and slough off dead tissue.
It is common to have periodontitis or gingivitis and not notice any symptoms or signs. Hence you should regularly visit your dentist as it is vital in determining your risk level. Your dentist is the primary care provider of your mouth and can provide all the information and facts necessary in diagnosing the disease. Especially taking steps in treating gum disease.
How is Gum Disease Diagnosed?
These methods are beneficial in the diagnosis of gum disease, especially during routine checkups:
1 Measuring the gums: Your dentist will use a periodontal probe to measure the depths of the pockets around all your affected teeth at the clinic. This should typically be done once every calendar year. Healthy gums will have pockets that measure 1 mm-3 mm deep. Any deeper pockets might mean more severe gum disease.
2 Taking X-rays: Dental X-rays, particularly bitewing X-rays, will help your doctor see the underlying bone level. The X-ray reveal whether any bone that has been lost to periodontal disease. Bitewing X-rays can show details of your upper and lower teeth and are very helpful during diagnosis.
3 Help examining sensitive teeth: If you notice any of your teeth has become sensitive around your gum line it may indicate receding gums.
4 Check for loose teeth: With gum disease, your teeth might become loose due to an incorrect bite or bone loss.
5 Examining the gums: Your dentist will look for swollen, red, or bleeding gums.
How is Gum Disease Treated?
The main goal of the treatment is to control the gum infection. The type of treatment will vary, depending on the extent of your gum disease. Any treatment will require that you keep up good daily care at home.
Your dentist may also suggest changing certain behaviors, including eating habits and quitting smoking. This can improve your treatment results. If you manage your diabetes and cut back on smoking, it would help to heal the gum infection better. You should strictly practice proper oral hygiene to treat gingivitis. Other treatments could include:
- Deep cleaning your teeth
- Antibiotic medications
- Surgery
1 Cleaning teeth
Today there are several techniques that you can use to deep clean your teeth without going for surgery. They all remove tartar and plaque to help prevent gum irritation:
- Scaling can remove tartar buildup from both above and below the gum line.
- Root planing will help smooth out rough spots and remove plaque and tartar from root surfaces.
- Lasers can also remove tartar with less pain and bleeding compared to scaling and root planing.
2 Medications
There are several medications available that can treat gum disease:
- Antiseptic mouthwash contains the chemical chlorhexidine used to disinfect the mouth.
- Your dentist might insert antibiotic microspheres made with minocycline in the pockets post scaling and planing sessions.
- Your dentist may also prescribe oral antibiotics to treat persistent areas of gum inflammation.
- Some specific antibiotics that can help keep enzymes from causing tooth damage.
3 Surgery
Gingival grafting is a viable option if your gum tissues are too diseased to sew back together. Your dentist will carefully remove healthy gum tissue from other parts of your mouth and stitch them into place. The graft typically will replace your diseased tissue. The graft will also help anchor the teeth tightly, giving them an improved appearance.
Flap surgery is another dental procedure where your gums are lifted back while plaque is removed from deep pockets. During the procedure, your dentist may open and clean badly diseased gum pockets.
Then they will suture the gums in place to fit snugly around your affected tooth. Your dentist will only opt for this procedure in case you have advanced cases of periodontitis.
Tissue and bone grafts are also commonly used when your jaw and teeth are badly damaged to heal.
Bottomline
You may have gum disease with no signs of warning. That is the underlying reason why your regular dental examinations and checkups at the dental clinic are very crucial.
Gum disease treatment methods solely depend upon the type of disorder and how far your condition has progressed. It is crucial to take good care of your gums at home to help keep periodontal disease from recurring or becoming more severe.
You do not have to lose your teeth when you have gum disease. Try to brush your teeth at least twice a day, clean between your teeth, eat a balanced healthy diet, and schedule periodical dental visits for a lifetime of healthy smiles.
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Outlined below are some of the most common risk factors:
