McDowell Mountain Ranch Dentistry: Periodontal Disease

McDowell Mountain Ranch Dentistry

At Mcdowell Mountain Ranch, we are a dental practice devoted to restoring and enhancing the natural beauty of your smile using conservative State-of-the-Art procedures that will result in beautiful long lasting smiles.

We build a foundation of trust by treating our patients as special individuals because we understand how uneasy some patients feel about dental visits. We are dedicated to making a difference in prioritizing a relaxing & positive experience. Our standard of excellence in personalized care enables us to provide the quality dental services our patients deserve. We provide comprehensive treatment planning and use Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry to achieve your optimal dental health. Should a dental emergency occur, we make every effort to see and care of you as quickly as possible.

We are a team of highly skilled and trained clinicians and pride ourselves in providing the extra care you need to keep your healthy smile. We are not only committed to Continuing Education & Learning to our patients, but to the community as well. Make an appointment today and we'll give you a reason to smile!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Periodontal Disease

What is periodontal disease? Periodontal disease is an infection of the gums and bone that surround and support the teeth. The beginning of periodontal disease is gingivitis. Gingivitis can often be found with people that do not floss regularly and only brush. Your gums will become swollen and red and will bleed often especially if you brush too hard or start flossing. Most people think that when you floss and see blood, they need to stop flossing. NOT TRUE. When there is infection anywhere in your body, blood immediately rushes to the area to fight the infection. The more you floss and brush regularly, the sooner your gums will stop bleeding. If your gums are red and puffy, start by gently and I repeat, gently, brushing your gums and flossing. You do not want your mouth to look like someone just punched you in the mouth and you cannot stop bleeding. It will also hurt at first but continue to brush and within a few days, you will see improvement.
How it happens: Whatever you eat stays in between your teeth until you get it out and the bristles of your toothbrush cannot get in between your teeth to the bone. Over time, the food, bacteria, and infection eat away at the bone causing it to disinegrate. Without any bone structure, the gums retreat down the tooth and soon you are left with loose teeth. Untreated periodontal disease results in painful chewing, bad breath, sensitive teeth, tooth loss, and you having to get dentures if you want to eat anything other than smoothies and soups. The good news is that by seeing your dentist and having them check your gums and bone levels while coming in regularly for cleanings, you can prevent this from happening to you.
Periodontal disease increases your odds of getting other diseases as well such as:

Diabetes
Heart Disease
Arthritis
Alzheimer's
Stroke
Lack of interest by the opposite sex
Halitosis (horrendous breath)
Pregnancy Problems
Osteoporosis
Respiratory Disease
Blood Disease

We treat periodontal disease by Scaling and Root Planing. A procedure that you can learn more about here. The same plaque and tartar that we clean off your teeth is found to be the same plaque and tartar that builds up in your arteries causing heart problems. Coincidence? I think not.