Dr. Funk and the rest of our team are here to help keep your mouth clean and your smile looking its best through every season of life. Even though your teeth tend to get most of the attention, your gums should also be well taken care of if you expect to stay healthy and happy. And so, today, we want to look at gum disease and gum disease treatments as well as what you can do to prevent this common problem.
Spotting Gum Disease
Gum disease afflicts millions of Americans at some point in life. The symptoms of gum disease vary depending on the stage you are dealing with. This condition can result in swelling and bleeding at first and go downhill from there.
Early stages of gum disease are known as gingivitis. With an aggressive approach and strict at-home care on your part, we’re often able to reverse the effects of gingivitis. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that it often goes unnoticed until it is too late for conservative measures.
The most serious form of gum disease is periodontitis. At this stage, patients often have excruciating pains and will have developed infected pockets around the gumline.
Periodontitis is not something you can easily ignore, as it will almost certainly spread and lead to bone loss and even total tooth loss. In fact, gum disease is the #1 cause of tooth loss in adults living in the U.S.
One of the craziest things about gum disease is that it can show up with little to no warning. We often see patients who have experienced no discomfort, yet they have advanced stages of gum disease and need immediate care to save their smile.
Another thing to keep top of mind is the fact that gum disease seldom stops at creating chaos in your mouth. There is also a correlation between gum disease and other ailments such as:
- Respiratory disease.
- Heart disease.
- And even some types of cancer.
Eradicating Gum Disease
Fixing teeth with gum disease is not reversible in every case, but with proper home care and regular visits, we can keep your mouth healthy and prevent future tooth loss.
Plus, we can treat most occurrences of gum disease using the most advanced method available: a diode laser. We can specially tune this laser to a variety of tasks. This will help us clean your gums quickly with little chance for secondary infection.
The laser has a unique ability to target certain areas of your gums, such as darker tissues that are infected or damaged by plaque. The laser allows us to vaporize infected tissue and leave healthy portions behind without any damage! The heat of the laser also instantly seals the healthy tissue, which means there will be no bleeding. This process also reduces the chance of reinfection.
Once healing of your gums is complete, we can also discuss any restorative treatments that you might need for your gums and teeth.
Gum Disease Treatments for a Healthier Smile!
If you are ready to get your oral health back on track or are seeking gum disease treatments, contact Dr. Funk today at Shorewood Family Dental Care!
