Prevention of Periodontal Disease
Periodontal disease begins as a preventable, curable condition known as gingivitis.
Understanding how appropriate oral hygiene habits affect your gum health is the first step to preventing the onset of oral disease. Since periodontitis is triggered by a bacterial infection, removing those bacterial colonies through daily brushing, flossing, and regularly scheduled dental cleanings is essential.
Brush Along Your Gumlines: Dental plaque tends to be heaviest along your gum tissues. Gently brush your gumlines using just enough pressure so that your tissues slightly blanch. Investing in an electric toothbrush can be extremely beneficial.
Many people ask which type of toothpaste is best for gum disease. The more important factor, however, is the length of time and focus spent physically removing the dental plaque with the toothbrush itself.
Floss Each Day: Brushing doesn’t clean the areas between your teeth or just under the edges of your gums. Use conventional floss or a water flosser each day to lift away soft dental plaque before it calcifies into tartar. Wrap the floss snuggly against the side of the tooth, rubbing up and down below the gums as well as where the teeth touch. Or if you’re using a water flosser, simply direct the stream toward your gumlines as you trace the along gums from one tooth to the next.
Check Your Teeth and Gums: Are there areas of tissue that are puffy? Tender? Let your dentist know if symptoms don’t improve within two weeks of detailed oral hygiene. Is there visible tartar buildup? Then it’s time to schedule a cleaning!
Most people with healthy teeth and gums benefit from a dental cleaning every six months. During these visits, your professional will clean away calcified tartar as well as hard-to-reach areas of buildup. They will also screen for gum infections, bone loss, and tissue detachment. If caught soon enough, the early stages of gingivitis can be completely reversed.
If you have already been treated for periodontitis, your professional will recommend periodontal maintenance cleanings to prevent relapse. These visits are similar to traditional dental cleanings, but with appropriate time and resources needed to clean deeper gum pockets and root surfaces.
Most periodontal maintenance cleanings are scheduled every 3-4 months until symptoms become manageable or improve.