Treating Gum Disease Before It Gets Too Severe
While gum disease isn’t the most common dental health condition, it is widespread, and it is the number one cause of adult tooth loss. Unfortunately, not everyone recognizes the dangers when they first notice the signs of gum disease, and by the time they seek treatment, it’s already caused significant damage to their periodontal tissues (gums). The best way to protect your smile is to prevent gum disease with excellent hygiene and regular preventive dental care. If prevention fails, then the next best way to protect your smile is to detect it and treat it as early as possible.
What Is Gum Disease?
Gum disease is a progressive condition that develops in the soft periodontal tissues, or gums, that surround your jawbone and teeth roots. When oral bacteria gather along your gum line, some of them can migrate underneath the tissues and form plaque and tartar on your teeth roots. This results in an infection and irritation in your gums that results in redness, inflammation, bleeding, and worse. As it progresses further and becomes more severe, gum disease causes significant damage to your gums, and eventually the jawbone structure underneath will erode, as well. In severe cases, this erosion leaves one or more of your teeth without enough support, causing them to fall out or require extraction by the time you seek treatment.
The Risks of Ignoring It
Because gum disease is progressive, it will continue to get worse the longer you ignore it. After losing one tooth, the disease will continue to lead to more lost teeth, eventually leaving your dental ridges empty. Because of the rampant inflammation that’s associated with gum disease, its severe stages can also become risk factors in other chronic, inflammatory conditions, including cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and much more.
Schedule a visit to address your gum disease
The earliest signs of gum disease may not be obvious, which is why sticking to a regular schedule of preventive dental care is vital to preventing it or treating it early. If you exhibit signs of gum disease, then schedule a visit with us as soon as possible by calling Dimples Family Dentistry in Norwalk, IA, today at (515) 256-1176.