Do you bleed when you are brushing your teeth? This could be a sign that you are having gum disease/ periodontal disease.
Periodontal diseases occur when there are bacterial infections in your mouth which lead to the inflammation of the gums and bleeding when brushing your teeth. It later destroys the gums and the tooth if left unattended. As this disease advances, residues(plaque and tartar) are amassed in the gum tissues and bone, this causes them to be destroyed and ultimately leads to tooth loss. Periodontal diseases are the main cause of tooth loss in adults. This heightens the need for you to see a dentist near you whenever you have a gum infection.
Various procdures involved in gum treatment
The first treatment carried out is the cleaning of the cavities around the teeth which assists in preventing further damage to the teeth tissues and bones. Accumulated residues are removed when the teeth are cleaned.
When periodontal diseases are not advanced, minor non-surgical procedures can be used to treat them. Root planing and scaling are examples of these methods. Root planing involves the smoothening of the root surface avoiding the further buildup of accumulated debris and bacteria. This brings the inflammation of the gums to a halt. Scaling involves using a laser or an ultrasonic device to remove tartar, plaque, or bacteria from the tooth surface and also beneath the gums. Use of antibiotics can also be employed by rinsing your mouth or inserting antibiotic gels into your cavities after cleaning deeply. Oral antibiotics can also be taken.
More severe periodontal infections can be treated through dental surgery, which are of various kinds; soft tissue grafts, bone grafting, pocket reduction surgery, use of tissue stimulating proteins, and use of biosynthetic fabrics to support bone. A soft tissue graft is the reinforcement of your soft gum tissue if damaged. Small amounts of tissue are removed from the roof of your mouth, called the palate, or from another donor and then attached to the affected area. This covers the exposed root of the tooth. Bone grafting is also very similar to this. Here, small fragments of your bone from any part of the body or even synthetic bone may be used to replace the destroyed gum bone. This is done to hold the tooth in place.
Pocket reduction surgeries entail opening up a section of your gum tissue, after which the dentist carries out the process of scaling and root planing. The infected gum bones can even be reconstructed before closing back the surgery site. This is why it is called flap surgery. The use of tissue-stimulating hormone helps in activating the growth of healthy tissues and bone because it has the same protein found in developing tooth enamel
What are the measures you could take to prevent gum infection?
There are a lot of measures you could take to avoid going through the rigors of gum infections. You should try to use a soft toothbrush and replace after every 3 months. Brushing twice daily or even after every meal or snack can also be considered. Cultivate the habit of using a dental pick to clean in between your teeth to remove accumulated particles of food and you should avoid smoking or chewing tobacco.
