ballochroy.com

Periodontal disease is a serious infection of one or many teeth that can lead to tooth loss. Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection in the gums & the jawbone. The word periodontal means “around the tooth.”

Gingivitis

In the early stages of periodontal disease, your gums may be red & bleed easily. This is the stage called gingivitis, & is usually due to inadequate oral hygiene. Paying more attention to brushing & flossing your teeth, & regular visits to your dentist, can reverse this condition.

Periodontitis

Left untreated, gingivitis advances to periodontitis. As the bacteria continue multiplying & excreting more & more acid, plaque spreads below your gum line, creating little spaces between the gums & the teeth. Left there long enough, the plaque hardens into tartar (also called calculus).

Now it can not actually be removed by brushing or flossing, but must be professionally removed. It continues breaking down & destroying tissue & bone. As a result, the gums separate more from the teeth, & infection develops in the pockets, enlarging them. The teeth become loose. Unless something is done, this vicious cycle becomes ongoing. More bacteria multiply, creating more space for many more bacteria to multiply. At first you will feel pain, but after the nerves within the affected teeth have died, there’ll be no pain & you might think the problem is resolved. But the sad truth is that your teeth will continue to decay & loosen until they fall out by themselves or require removal.

Connection to heart disease

Unfortunately, losing your teeth isn’t the only eventuality with periodontitis. So… Studies show a clear correlation between gum disease & heart disease, highlighting the fact that people with gum disease have a 25 percent greater risk of heart disease than those with healthy gums.

Although scientists have just begun to understand how one disease affects another, they now believe that inflammatory gum disease releases pro-inflammatory chemicals into the bloodstream, triggering a systemic inflammatory response. In other words, inflammation in one area of the body can cause inflammation in another. Additionally, people with poor oral health & missing & decayed teeth tend to suffer from poor nutrition. Why? Because eating a nutritious diet high in fiber, fruits & vegetables is more hard for them. This too can affect heart health.

Preventing & treating gum disease

To stop it, good dental hygiene is absolutely essential. There is no way around this. Right. We must all brush at least twice or two times a day & floss every night to keep the number of bacteria from multiplying out of control. In addition, twice-yearly visits to a dentist for cleaning & check-up is essential. Why?

Because even though brushing & flossing removes plaque, that sticky coating that forms on the teeth, few of us can get rid of it all. A dentist can clean off accumulated plaque, & the plaque which has been there so long that it has turned into tartar (calculus). Once tartar has formed, it has to be removed with a special implement called a scaling tool.

A twice-yearly check-up will find small areas of decay so they can be repaired before they grow large & threaten the tooth’s life. Your dentist will use a probe to find pockets forming between the gums & teeth, where bacteria could gain a foothold. On the website of Dr. Michael Iott in Manhattan, NY, you can see photos showing how dental examination & cleaning is done, with information about his state-of-the-art technology used to do it.

If you have developed the deep pockets typical of periodontitis, your dentist will clean these as often as every two months until the infection can be brought under control. Additionally, root planing may be needed, where the infected base around the root of your tooth is removed.

Good daily care

Maintaining good oral hygiene at home & seeing your dentist twice or two times a year for cleanings will often help you to avoid many of these unpleasant oral conditions. There is more. To avoid gum disease & keep your teeth & gums in tip-top shape, here are a few tips:

? Brush at least twice or two times daily
? Use a fluoride toothpaste to protect against decay
? Use a toothbrush with soft or medium synthetic bristles that has a head small enough to comfortably reach all around your mouth
? Use a gentle up-and-down action & brush all surfaces of your teeth thoroughly
? Floss between all teeth, curving the floss around each neighboring tooth to contact the curving surfaces

Take good care of your teeth & your gums! It is one more way to protect yourself from having a heart attack. Click here to schedule an appointment for an evaluation of your gum health & a thorough cleaning with Dr. Iott & his staff.

Dr. Iott is located in New York, serving New York City, Manhattan, & Queens. If you would like more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit the website of Dr. Michael Iott & Associates.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.