Severe Gum Diseases: How Do You Avoid It?

Severe gum disease or periodontal disease is a condition in which gums and surrounding bone become extremely inflamed causing a lot of pain and sometimes bleeding. Nearly 50 per cent of people aged over 30 years suffer from severe gum disease in the USA that accounts to over 64.7 million Americans.
Periodontal disease is chronic in nature and is of two types –
1. Gingivitis – inflammation of gums near the base of the teeth. It is mostly seen in children and is both chronic and acute. It is characterised by swelling, redness, and bleeding on brushing teeth.
Acute gingivitis is caused due to trauma or microorganism overgrowth while chronic is caused due to excessive plaque accumulation that gets severely infected by bacteria. Once the disease is prevalent and isn’t controlled at the right moment, it can cause loss of gum and bone structure. Gingivitis in adults is less severe than that in children.
2. Periodontitis – this inflammatory disease affects the bone and supporting tissues of the gum. Pockets are formed between tooth and gums. Periodontitis is a progressive disease and if not controlled it can lead to loss of tooth or several teeth. It is kind of a silent disease as it doesn’t cause any pain and diagnosis at an earlier stage will help through regular dental visits can be made. Periodontitis is either genetic or caused due to bad oral hygiene.
Causes of periodontal disease are –
One of the major causes of periodontal disease is the bacteria found in plaque that covers the teeth. Other causes of the disease are –
1. Tobacco consumption and smoking
2. Trauma
3. Very high diabetes
4. Malnutrition
5. Puberty, menopause, or pregnancy
6. Habit of grinding teeth
Signs and symptoms of periodontal disease are –
1. Bleeding of the gums – cause a lot of pain on brushing
2. Loose tooth – the periodontal tissues become weak causing the tooth to become loose
3. Bad breath – even if you brush, the bad breath will be persistent
4. Spacing between teeth – is caused due to loss of bone structure
5. Swelling – that results in red gums
6. Tender gums – cause a lot of discomfort
Treatment for periodontal disease –
Depending on the type and extent of the periodontal disease, you might either have to undergo surgical or non-surgical treatment.
Some of the most used surgical treatments are –
1. Laser periodontal treatment – a specialized laser fiber is used to fill in the the gaps. First all the damaged and infected tissue is taken out and then the laser fiber is placed.
2. Dental implants – those who have lost tooth because of the disease need dental implants to function the oral cavity effectively.
Some of the most used non-surgical treatments are –
1. Prophylaxis – Deep cleaning of the oral cavity to counteract mild gingivitis.
2. Periodontal maintenance – This non-surgical treatment is done on patients who’ve already done through the disease as a way to stop it from recurring.