Periodontal Care
Spokane, WA
If you have been listening to television or radio lately, you may have heard the word “periodontal”. Periodontal is a big word, but it’s an important word, especially when it comes to your teeth and gums. If your periodontal care is great, your teeth and gums will be great too. Periodontal care deals specifically with your gums, and it’s really important to make sure that your gums are healthy. Let Dynamic Dental Care take some of your time to tell you about gum care.
But They are Only Gums- Why are They So Important?
Gums may not seem like much, but they are super important to your mouth. Think of your gums like the framing of a picture. If the frame is broken or cracked, the picture will not hold up. It is much the same with your gums. Your gums are the framework of your mouth in general - they are the go-between for your jaw and your teeth. Your gums help keep your teeth protected and safe, and they also provide the blood supply for your teeth that helps them live. We think your gums are very important, and we developed a whole discipline to check, heal, and treat your gums, called periodontology. That’s because when your gums get a disease, they can affect your whole mouth.
What Gums Get Sick
You have bacteria in your mouth all the time. While that bacteria is in your mouth to help you digest your food, they can also cause trouble if there’s too much of them. Bacteria can cause gum disease. If you use good dental hygiene, and you come to see us once a year, you should be able to prevent a lot of problems with your gums. However, if you didn’t practice good dental hygiene, you may suffer from gum disease.
There are three stages of gum disease. The first stage of gum disease is called gingivitis. Gingivitis sounds horrible, but it is easily treated. If you have gingivitis, you might notice that you have red, inflamed gums. Your gums might also bleed. Luckily, if we catch periodontal disease early, we can treat gingivitis and cure it. However, if your gums are past stage 1 of the disease, we can treat the disease, but we can’t cure it. At stages 2 and 3, the damage from periodontal disease can’t be cured, but we can keep it in check. If you don’t get treatment for periodontal disease, you could lose gum tissue, you could lose your teeth, and you could even change the shape of your jawbone over time.
Caring for Your Gums
There are several steps to cleaning your gums thoroughly. First, we may have to deep clean your gums. This deep cleaning goes underneath your gumline to clean out the infection from under your gums. In stages 2 and 3 of periodontal disease, the disease creates pockets of infection between your teeth and gums. The pockets can be very deep, and it can trap food particles which makes the infection worse.
After a deep cleaning, you may need to get your gums cleaned every three months or so, depending on the stage of your disease. Digital x-rays may be used to find any bone loss. We may also have to treat your infection with antibiotics as well. If you need help with your gums, why not give Dynamic Dental Care a call at (509) 466-2587 or request an appointment online. We’d love to help. |
