Gum Disease: Essential Info

Taking excellent care of your smile with preventive dentistry keeps gum disease at bay, as well as other oral concerns. Not quite sure what to make of this oral disease but you have heard it is quite serious? The good news is that keeping your gums in good health does not require difficult maintenance. However, it does require consistent care. By finding out more about why it develops and how to protect yourself from gum problems – also called periodontal disease – you can expect to enjoy a clean, comfortable, healthy smile for years to come. Find out more:

What Is Gum Disease?

It is an oral disease that occurs when plaque is not swept off of your teeth. Instead, it remains in place and hardens. This can happen quite quickly – ignoring plaque for as few as 48 hours may allow it to harden into a cement-like substance called calculus or tartar. Unfortunately, you will not be able to remove this hardened form of plaque. Eventually, the bacteria within tartar that has hardened beneath your gumline will irritate your gum tissue. This will cause inflammation that we call gingivitis (the first stage of gum disease). Then, infection may occur, which will flourish into full gum disease. We can treat and cure gingivitis. However, if you wait too long, we will only be able to treat and manage your gum disease problem, rather than reverse it.

Dealing With Gum Disease

First, you may rely on preventive dentistry. By visiting us for dental checkups and cleanings, we can help keep your teeth free of plaque, which will inhibit the problem from occurring. We may also recognize gum disease in its earliest form. If symptoms appear, we will offer a special type of cleaning called a “deep cleaning” or “scaling and root planing.” This type of cleaning typically requires up to four visits, since we often treat only a quadrant of your smile at a time. Using special instruments, we will remove the hardened plaque from your teeth and then smooth damaged tooth tissue to restore your oral health.

ABOUT YOUR DALLAS, TX FAMILY DENTISTS:

Dr. Tran, Dr. Hoang, and the friendly, welcoming staff at Gentle Smiles will do everything possible to make you feel at home. Contact us today by calling 972-329-7645 (972-329-SMILE) to experience our compassionate, effective, and individualized care. We proudly serve patients from Dallas, TX, and all surrounding communities, including Mesquite, Balch Springs, Garland, and Seagoville.