the simple blog

Gum disease, like diabetes, is incurable, but very treatable.  Most of our patients get better after treatment, but a few don't.  Here's the three most common reasons people can't beat gum disease...

1.  Poor oral hygiene - let's face it, sloppy home care gets you into this mess, and those same habits will not get you out.   Gum disease results from the accumulation of bacterial toxic waste, and the only way to minimize these toxins is to reduce the amount of bacteria.  Flossing at least daily will clear the plaque that holds these bacteria securely between your teeth. Take care of your gums, and they will take care of you.

 2.   Incomplete tartar removal - the dentist or dental hygienist usually remove all the tartar buildup at every cleaning.  The problem is that in advanced periodontal disease, the pockets around the teeth become too deep for floss, brushes, and dental instruments.  You can't clean what you can't reach.   You can't expect a wound to heal with dirt stuck in it, and you can't expect gums to heal with a big lump of germ-infested tartar stuck to the side of a tooth.  That's when we refer to periodontists, who can perform a minor surgical procedure to remove that last little bit of tartar hiding way beneath the gumline.

 3.  Smoking - cigars and cigarettes reduce the body's immune defenses.   The result in the mouth is accelerated gum disease.  Smoking speeds up the bone loss that accompanies gum disease, which eventually loosens teeth.  Smokers are several times more likely to lose teeth to gum disease than non-smokers.   In fact,most edentulous (toothless) denture wearers I see lost their teeth from gum disease, not cavities, and almost all of them smoked!   

These top three probably account for 90%+ of our stubborn gum disease cases.  

We can never completely eradicate the disease, but we can manage it with thorough oral hygiene and regular dental treatment.