Designing Smiles                                                                     
 Angela Hilton-Foley, DMD, FICOI                                 813-891-1212

Periodontal Disease

Did you know that 7 out of 10 people have some form of gum disease, according to the American Dental Association?  That number includes people right here in the Tampa Bay, Westchase and Town and Country area! 




Diagnosis of Gum disease
Gum disease is silent, painless in the early stages, and can go undetected for years, until you visit your dentist and undergo proper examination and treatment.  A visual examination is not enough to be able to diagnose the condition.  The only way to properly diagnose periodontal gum disease, is by using a dental probe, which is a small dental ruler, that is placed gently between the tooth and gum to measure the amount of bone or attachment loss that has occurred around each and every tooth. Measurements should be taken periodically to be proactive against the disease, along with good home care, professional dental cleanings, flossing, and antiseptic medications and prescription rinses. 


 Stages of Gum Disease
Healthy gums are coral or pink in color, do not exhibit any puffiness and do not bleed.  Plaque forms on everyone's teeth 24 hours a day. It comes from bacteria that are normally present in your mouth, which form a white, sticky film all over your teeth.  If  the plaque is not removed within 16-24 hours,  it becomes calculus or tartar.  Calculus is basically hardened, calcified plaque, that is difficult to remove.  If left on the teeth for prolonged periods of time, the bacteria that are present in the plaque and tartar, release toxins into your gum tissue.  This inflames the gum tissue, causes it to swell, bleed and become reddened in color. At this early, reversible stage, it is called gingivitis.  The gums begin to pull away from the teeth slightly which creates a crevice or  periodontal pocket around your teeth.  This newly created pocket makes it even easier for more and more plaque to get under your gums.  The bacteria exponentially grow and multiply in number, quickly increasing the number of harmful bacteria under your gums!  At this point, it is an active infection.  Sometimes there is even pus present!  Your body tries desperately to remove this toxic material, but in the process, your bone support  and gum tissue are irreversibly damaged.  When there is evidence of bone or attachment loss around your teeth, that is the definition of periodontal disease.  There are stages of gum disease.  Gingivitis, early periodontitis, moderate periodontitis, and severe periodontitis.     

Results of Untreated Gum Disease
Without proper dental cleanings and care, the results of periodontal disease are tooth loss, bad breath, recession, mobility of your teeth,  and eventually, changes to your facial profile. Even the loss of one tooth in your mouth can start a domino effect of more shifting occurring, pocket creations, loosening, eruption of adjacent teeth, and so on.  It is like removing a book from the shelf full of books.  When you take one out, the other ones tilt, fall down, move around, eventually change positions, or fall off the shelf.

Prevention
Prevention of periodontal disease begins with education.  An understanding the disease process, gives you the tools you need to fight the disease.  By brushing, rinsing with a germ fighting rinse, flossing your teeth, at least two times, preferably three times a day, visiting your dentist regularly, and having professional cleanings, you are well on your way to preventing this very common disease.  There is this professor at the University of Florida that always joked, if people had the infection that periodontal disease causes on their arm or leg, they would run to the doctor to treat it!   The problem with gum disease, is it is usually slow to progress, doesn't hurt until is causes an abscess and swelling, and is often left untreated because people don't know they have it, until it is too late.  Once you lose your teeth, you will wish you had taken better care of yourself, but by then, it's too late! Don't let that happen to you.


Oraquix is a liquid anesthetic ointment that can be used instead of traditional numbing anesthesia.  It is called needle-less anesthesia, and lasts for about 30 minutes.  It only numbs the gum around your tooth, not your lip, tongue, or cheek.  It makes getting your teeth cleaned, much more comfortable.