Preventing gum disease could lessen your chance of heart disease. The American Dental Association and American Medical Association have conducted studies that determined bacteria in the mouth can affect the heart when it enters the blood stream and attaches to fatty plaques in the coronary blood vessels. This can contribute to clot formation. Heart disease is caused by a thickening of the coronary artery walls, due to buildup of fatty plaques. Preventing gum disease not only can save your teeth; it can save your life.
We take pride in our care for patients who have periodontal disease. Plaque buildup around the gum line causes inflammation and infection, which destroys the bone structure surrounding the tooth. Once the bone is broken down, the tooth will no longer stay in place. It is important for all patients to know the different stages of gum disease.
The 4 Stages of Gum Disease
Preventing gum disease not only can save your teeth; it can save your life.
Gingivitis
In this stage, the gum tissue is inflamed around the tooth area. The color of the gums will be a light red color, as opposed to a healthy pink. There may be slight bleeding around the gum line when flossing.
Early Periodontitis
The gum tissue will be more inflamed than with gingivitis. A pocket around the tooth will begin to develop. However, there is no tooth mobility in this stage.
Moderate Periodontitis
The connective tissue of gum and tooth will begin to deteriorate. The pocket around the tooth will deepen, as well. At this stage there could be a substantial loss of bone support, and slight tooth mobility.
Advanced Periodontitis
In the last stage of periodontal disease, there will be a severe breakdown of connective tissue. The loss of bone becomes greater and there will be considerable tooth movement. Potential tooth loss occurs in this final stage.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are available for patients that have lost a tooth (or teeth) due to disease, fracture, or accidents. Extreme care must be taken in the treatment planning and placement of implants. Drs. Davis and Ferguson offers final restorations for all implant types including crowns, bridges, and implant overdentures. This will allow the patient to be go about their daily activities without the embarrassment of tooth loss.
Prevention
To prevent periodontal disease, the teeth and gum line need to be cleaned and flossed daily. We offer scaling and root planning to remove the plaque buildup as a means of treating periodontal disease.