How to Stop Periodontal Disease: Safeguarding Your Smile

If you want to excel in dental health, you cannot only be taking care of your teeth. Even though they are a crucial part of your oral cavity, they are not the only ones. The best way to safeguard your smile is by caring for your gum health as much as you do your teeth. This way, you can avoid oral complications related to periodontal disease.

What Is Periodontal Disease?

It is an infection affecting the periodontium of the oral cavity. The periodontal disease manifests different symptoms that begin affecting the gums, then gradually the jawbone. While you may not have heard about periodontal disease, you know a thing or two about gum disease.

What you may not know yet is that gum disease occurs in two different stages:

• Gingivitis – is the initial stage of periodontal disease that typically affects the gum tissue only. While a few symptoms are associated with gingivitis, some patients can go for a while without noticing the infection in their gums. As the bacteria continue to damage teeth, you will notice symptoms that can prompt you to visit a dentist near you.
• Periodontitis – is the more advanced infection of the gums. At this stage, the bacteria have damaged your gums tremendously, accessing the jawbone underneath. Patients begin to lose bone tissue gradually due to the advanced bacterial infection. The symptoms of periodontitis are rather severe, with complex complications like premature tooth loss.

​How Do You Get Periodontal Disease?

Periodontal disease occurs due to different factors. The most common one is poor oral hygiene. If you are not keen to brush and floss your teeth daily, you allow plaque to build up in your mouth and heighten the risk of bacterial infections. Other factors that can increase your risk of periodontal disease are:

• Genetics and family history
• Type 2 diabetes
• Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption
• Hormonal imbalance – common among pregnant women.

​How to Know You Have Periodontal Disease

Before you can concern yourself with how to stop periodontal disease, consider the following symptoms as indicators that you have gum disease:

• Swollen, sore, and tender gums
• Bleeding gums – typically when you brush your teeth or bite hard foods like apples and carrots.
• Dental pain when you chew
• Weak and wobbly teeth
• Receded gums – they pull away from your natural teeth, exposing the tooth roots.
• Premature tooth loss

How to Stop Periodontal Disease?

Your initial response when you find that you have periodontal disease should be to contact a dentist near you. Hopefully, you will not have delayed treatment long enough to incur severe and permanent complications. Besides, how else are you supposed to know if you have periodontal disease or a different problem like oral cancer?

​Treatment Options for Periodontal Disease

​If you are wondering how dentists treat gum disease in Clute, you are not the only one. Technically, there is no particular cure for gum disease. Therefore, at UR Smile Dental Group, we offer the following treatment protocols to address periodontal disease:

• Medication – we can prescribe antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and pain medication to help you manage your pain and swelling.
• Deep cleaning – entails root planing and scaling, procedures that rid your mouth of calculus built up over time. These processes scrape off all residue from teeth surfaces while addressing the areas below the gum line.
• Gum grafting surgery – is an intricate procedure for restoring receded gums.
• Tooth extraction – although it may not be the typical treatment for gum disease, your dentist may recommend a tooth removal procedure for weak and shaky teeth.

Can You Prevent Gum Disease?

It is quite unfortunate that many patients suffer severe complications due to periodontal disease, even though it is preventable. Some of the tips and tricks to prevent gum disease are:

• Keep your mouth clean – no dental treatment can ever substitute oral hygiene measures like teeth brushing and flossing.
• Eat healthily – ensure you provide your body and mouth with the necessary nutrients to remain healthy.
• Avoid sugary foods – they only heighten acidity in your mouth, encouraging bacterial overgrowth.
• Visit your dentist regularly – routine cleanings and exams ensure your mouth is in good standing always.