One of the more serious dental issues deals with periodontitis, which occurs when the soft tissue of the gums becomes infected and wreaks havoc on your mouth. Periodontitis is also known as gum disease, and while preventable, it can lead to bleeding gums, gum recession and eventual tooth loss. The easiest way to combat the effects of gum disease is by maintaining a good oral hygiene routine that focuses on brushing and flossing. Follow these tips to keep your teeth healthy and prevent periodontitis from occurring!

What Is Periodontitis?

When it comes to your teeth, you want to make sure that you’re taking all of the necessary, preventative steps that you can to keep tooth decay and disease at bay. Unfortunately, there are many Americans who don’t take good care of their teeth and end up with periodontitis, or gum disease. Periodontitis is the most severe form of gum disease, and it is preceded by gingivitis, or gum inflammation. When gingivitis is left untreated, the gums in your mouth begin to pull away from the teeth, letting in harmful plaque into the spaces that the gums used to cover. From there, your gum line begins to shrink as it becomes more and more infected until eventually you suffer tooth loss. These are the effects of periodontitis and you should do all that you can to prevent it from occurring, not only to save your oral health but a good chunk of your money, as well. Most cases of gum disease are due to plaque, but hormonal changes caused by pregnancy and menopause, along with medical conditions like diabetes and HIV, can decrease gum elasticity and increase your likelihood of developing periodontitis. Poor dental hygiene habits are another reason why patients suffer from this disease. Plaque forms on the teeth each day, and if you aren’t brushing and flossing regularly, it will continue to build on your teeth until your gums start to recede and disease forms. At this point, you will need the professional help of a dentist to restore your mouth to its prior health and save your teeth.

How Full Mouth Restoration Can Improve Oral Health

While gingivitis is easy enough to treat, periodontitis is another story. When teeth and gums are seriously damaged, a full mouth restoration procedure is one of the only ways to revitalize your smile again. Also called full mouth reconstruction and rehabilitation, full mouth restoration improves the functionality of your mouth by restoring (or replacing) the teeth in your mouth that are damaged by periodontitis, tooth decay and infection. Some of the restorative procedures include dental veneers, bridges, crowns, implants and dentures, and each can improve the look and functionality of your smile. Your treatment will depend on how severe your gum disease is, whether or not teeth have fallen out and what your end goals are. Full mouth restoration includes a personalized treatment plan that will not only remove the plaque and infection that’s destroying your gums, but reinvigorate your teeth, gums and mouth so that they’re healthy and beautiful once again.

Making A Habit to Brush and Floss Teeth

The majority of cases that involve periodontitis develop from a lack of good dental hygiene habits. Brushing and flossing your teeth are two of the most important parts of your daily schedule that you should never miss doing, even if you’re busy or tired. Make sure that you’re brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing at least once to ensure that all food particles and other debris have been removed. If your gum disease is advanced, you’ll probably need a root planing and scaling treatment that focuses on cleaning out diseased gingival pockets and treating gum infection. An ultrasonic scaling tool is used to scrape the plaque and tartar above and below the gum line before your tooth and root surfaces are hand-scaled to make them smooth. This process can be painful, so it’s best to avoid it by taking care of your teeth now so that gum disease doesn’t occur in the first place. You can do this by meeting regularly with your dentist, especially if you have bad plaque buildup, so that he/she can deep clean your teeth. These visits not only clear your teeth of hardened plaque and tartar, but they also provide the dentist an opportunity to evaluate any bite issues or underlying problems, like oral cancer. Just like brushing and flossing, dental checkups are a must if you want to keep your mouth healthy and disease-free.

Prevent Periodontitis With Our Help!

At Mountain Aire Dentistry, Dr. Bockrath and his staff have years of experience treating periodontitis and can perform full mouth restorations to give you your smile back. Whether your gum disease is mild or severe, we offer the best technology and tools to clean your teeth and get you smiling again. Call our office at (303) 731-7755 to schedule an appointment. You need good oral health, so call today to get yours back on track!