Periodontal Disease

What is periodontal disease?

Periodontal disease is a condition where your gum tissue is irritated by or infected due to bacteria. Bacteria accumulates on the surfaces of your teeth in plaque and tartar. You can remove plaque at home with simple brushing and flossing, but tartar requires a professional treatment to eliminate.

At first, the plaque and tartar on your teeth simply irritate your gum tissue, which leaves it swollen, tender, and susceptible to bleeding when you brush. This earliest stage of gum disease, called gingivitis, is entirely reversible with more frequent dental cleanings and improved at-home care.

If you don’t treat your gingivitis, it can develop into periodontitis, the more advanced stage of periodontal disease. When you have periodontitis, your gum tissue begins to pull away from your teeth in an attempt to avoid the irritating plaque and tartar. This creates pockets between your teeth and gums, and those pockets tend to collect even more debris and bacteria, making the infection worse.

What are the consequences of periodontal disease?

Your gums are a vital component to your overall oral health, so when periodontal disease goes untreated, it can significantly damage the health of your mouth. When periodontal disease is left to advance, it can destroy the tissues in your mouth that support your teeth and keep them in place, leading to tooth loss and infection of your jawbone.

Periodontal disease can even affect your health outside of your mouth. The bacteria that causes periodontal disease can eventually make its way into your bloodstream, where it can affect your cardiovascular system and other parts of your body, causing:

• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Sleep apnea
• High blood pressure
• Infertility
• Premature birth

Treating your gum disease can significantly boost your immune system and improve your overall health.

What are the signs of periodontal disease?

Some symptoms of gum disease include:

• Gums that are red, swollen, and irritated
• Receding gumline
• Bleeding when you brush or floss
• Bad breath
• Loose teeth

Gum disease is known to develop silently, meaning that many patients aren’t aware that they have it until it’s already in its later stages. Because of this, it’s important to maintain regular checkups and cleanings with the team at Union Square Dental since they can spot signs of gum disease in its earliest stages.

How do you treat periodontal disease?

The typical treatment for gum disease is called scaling and root planing –– a deep cleaning that removes the plaque and tartar from above and below your gum line in addition to smoothing the surfaces of your teeth to make it more difficult for bacteria to accumulate in the future.

Union Square Dental also offers laser dentistry treatments for gum disease. Using a soft tissue laser, your dentist can eliminate the growing biofilm in your mouth and encourage your gum tissue to reattach. Laser gum disease treatments can even trigger new bone growth, ultimately providing improved results with a shorter recovery time.

To learn more about how Union Square Dental can treat your periodontal disease, call the office today or request an appointment online.