16 Apr
What can your dentist offer for your gum problems?
Gingivitis is a mild form of gum disease characterized by having bad breath, bleeding gums, sore mouth and falling teeth. This is the inflammation of the gums that surround the teethwhich affects the health of the periodontium, the tissues that surround the teeth and include the gums, soft tissues, and bone. This is caused by the formation of a sticky film called plaque from the interaction of bacteria, food particles and saliva. If this is not treated properly, it may lead to tooth loss due to the destruction of the tissue that surrounds your teeth.
There are a lot of treatments available for gum problems however; these depend on the stage of the disease. There are treatments that range from nonsurgical therapies that control bacterial growth to surgical procedures to restore supportive tissues.
The non-surgical treatments that can get rid of gingivitis include performing professional dental cleaning, scaling and root planning. During your regular checkup, you can ask for the professional cleaning to remove the plaque that build up and hardens on the tooth surface removing from above and below the gum line of all your teeth. Scaling and root planning can also be performed under a local aesthetic. During this procedure, the plaque and tartar from above and below the gum line are scraped away through scalingand rough spots on the tooth root are made smooth through planning. When the rough spots on the teeth are smoothed and bacteria are removed, this provides a clean surface for the gums to reattach to the teeth. These procedures are only done if your dentist determines that you have plaque, calculus or tartar under the gums that needs to be removed.
Surgical treatments such as flat surgery and pocket reduction surgery are also recommended for gingivitis cure. This procedure includes lifting the gums back to remove the tartar present in the mouth. There are some cases where irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to limit areas where the disease-causing bacteria can hide. Bone grafts can also be done using the fragments of your own bone, synthetic bone, or donated bone can be used to replace bone destroyed by gum disease.There is also the soft tissue graft that reinforces thin gums and can be used to fill in places where the gums have receded. Another procedure is the guided tissue regeneration which is performed when the bone supporting the teeth has been destroyed and to stimulate bone and gum tissue growth.
Prompt treatment is always the best way to reverse any gingivitis symptoms and prevent its progression to a more serious gum disease and tooth loss.
