What is gum disease? Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is an infection of the gums, which support the teeth in your mouth. Despite the fact that almost 50 million Americans have this disease, many are unaware since it is painless and shows few outward symptoms. They effects of this disease can be much worse than you would originally expect. If you have periodontal disease, you run the risk of stroke or heart attack and possible permanent tooth loss. The plaque that forms on your teeth is what ultimately causes these problems.
What are some of the symptoms? The few symptoms of gum disease that you are actually able to observe are swollen and tender gums, some pain, a smile where your gums pull back from your teeth, offensive bad breath, teeth that fall out and gums that bleed when you brush or floss them. Gingivitis is also associated with periodontal disease and is its precursor. Nearly half of all Americans have gingivitis, which also can cause really bad breath and a few of the other symptoms above.
Ok, but how do I treat it? The first line of defense is a deep cleaning called scaling and root planning. Either your dental hygienist or dentist at Annapolis Dental Care can administer this deep cleaning to remove plaque and tartar from the gum line. This will help control all of the plaque and bacteria that has grown as a result of gum disease. If your dentist catches this problem too late, it can actually result in surgery to cure the problem. This issue will definitely need to be treated in order to retain a healthy mouth and smile. The consequences can be devastating for something that sounds like such a small problem. Get checked to see if Annapolis Dental Care has the Annapolis Gum Disease Solution for you.