Periodontics

Proper dental health is crucial because dental problems like gum inflammation affect your oral health. Periodontics is an oral practice that exclusively treats inflammatory conditions of the gums. Oral conditions destroy the gums if they are not arrested in the early stages. For instance, gum disease begins with inflammation of the gums, or gingivitis, and advances to periodontitis, which destroys the gums, exposing the tooth roots. Periodontitis, when left untreated, can result in heart conditions.

A periodontist helps patients prevent gum diseases, diagnose gum issues, and treat them using dental implants. Therefore, you should speak to an experienced periodontist for early treatment when you notice signs of gum infection. At Tayani Dental Group, we will perform the periodontal procedure you require to preserve the health of your gums and overall dental health in Fullerton.

Periodontics at a Glance

Periodontics is a general dentistry branch focusing on preventing, managing, and treating gum disease. Gums, or the gingiva tissue, are the structures that secure or keep your teeth intact. If these structures develop infections, like gum disease, they could be permanently damaged if you do not seek treatment early.

The initial stage of gum infection is gingivitis, characterized by swollen gums. The conditions develop due to plaque or calculus buildup in the areas near the gums. The accumulation happens because of bad oral health, allowing food debris to accumulate in the mouth. With time, plaque produces toxic acids and bacteria that irritate the gums, causing redness and swelling. Inflamed gums are highly sensitive, and you can tell when you have gingivitis because the gums bleed whenever you brush. Thankfully, this being the early stage of periodontal disease, your teeth remain in place. The condition does not destroy the bone or the gingivae.

However, failure to seek treatment allows the infection to spread further, causing periodontal disease. This condition eats away bone and gum tissue, leaving the teeth wavy and exposed. When gums recede or pull away, they create pockets, accumulating food parties and breeding grounds for bacteria that cause severe oral infections. If you do not seek treatment, the infection spreads further into the gingivae, causing severe damage. The bacteria produce toxins or acids that eat away the gum tissue and bones anchoring the teeth.

As damage continues on the gums and bones, your teeth weaken and fall off after some time. You can avoid tooth loss due to periodontitis by seeking early treatment to prevent the condition from spreading and causing irreversible damage. At an early stage, gum disease is reversible. However, the condition becomes irreversible if it progresses to periodontitis. Therefore, seek treatment to prevent irreversible damage when you notice signs of inflammatory gum disease.

Understanding Gum Disease

Periodontal disease is a gum condition that destroys the ligaments and jawbone securing the teeth. It is the primary cause of tooth loss among adults. Luckily, with proper oral hygiene and frequent visits to the dentist, you can prevent the condition. Preventing or managing the condition early is useful because treating the condition at an advanced stage is expensive and involves highly invasive procedures like implants.

Factors Increasing the Risk of Periodontitis

Gum disease is a gradual oral infection that starts with gingivitis, which is the inflammation and itchy gums. When left untreated, gingivitis progresses into periodontitis, the most severe stage of gum infection. Nevertheless, gingivitis does not always turn into periodontitis. With proper management and treatment, the damage caused by gingivitis is reversible, and you can restore your gums. Therefore, one factor that exposes you to periodontal disease is gingivitis.

Similarly, bad oral habits like smoking and chewing tobacco can also increase the risk of gum infection. Sometimes, gums can experience minor damage, but they repair themselves with time because of the strong immune system and proper oral habits. Nonetheless, when you practice bad habits like chewing tobacco, your mouth’s pH changes, and the immune system drops. When this happens, it becomes challenging for the soft tissues to repair themselves. If the gums cannot be repaired, the damage continues, leading to gum disease.

Also, certain medical conditions like leukemia and HIV/AIDS lower the body’s immune system, making it impossible to fight infection. If the body cannot fight the infection at the onset, then the risk of it progressing and turning into periodontal disease is high. Conditions like diabetes increase periodontitis risk because it increases sugar levels, enabling bacteria to breed and produce toxic acids that damage the gums.

Enough saliva reduces food debris and creates a protective coat for the soft tissue and teeth. Unfortunately, using particular medications causes halitosis, eliminating this protective layer and enabling food debris in the mouth to stay longer, thus increasing gum disease risk.

Poor dental hygiene is the primary factor that predisposes you to gum disease. Failure to brush and floss teeth as required causes food particles to accumulate in the mouth. With time, these particles form a coat around the gums and teeth called plaque. If the plaque is not removed, it hardens and forms tartar, which is more difficult to remove. These layers are conducive to bacterial growth. The bacteria produce poison or toxins that eat away the gums and tooth ligaments.

Other factors that increase the risk of periodontitis are hormonal imbalance, family history, and an imbalanced diet.

Gum Disease Growth Stages

Periodontal diseases start with plaque formation due to bad oral hygiene when the food particles interact with bacteria in the mouth.

Once plaque forms, as time passes, it hardens into tartar or calculus, a sticky bacteria coating that cannot be removed through normal brushing. You will require professional cleaning to remove the layer.

If tartar is not removed, it causes a bacterial infection that irritates the gums, making them swell and turn red. Gingivitis is a mild gum disease; its effects are reversible with adequate treatment and management.

When you fail to manage gingivitis, the bacterial infection erodes the gums, causing them to recede. If gums pull back, they leave pockets between them and the teeth, breeding grounds for bacteria as they accumulate more plaque. When this happens, the bacterial infection can reach deeper sections of the gums and bones, further causing damage. With time, your teeth lack a structure to retain them in place, leading to tooth loss. This happens in the advanced stage of gum infection called periodontitis.

Periodontitis Diagnosis

Periodontal specialists are dental experts with an extra 36 months of training and specialization in periodontal disease treatment. These experts diagnose, manage, and administer surgical and non-surgical procedures to treat gum disease. They also have training in dental implant procedures to help patients whose periodontitis results in tooth loss.

When you see a periodontal specialist with suspicions of periodontitis, they will take you through several steps to perform a diagnosis. The first step encompasses an examination of the mouth and teeth to establish if you have plaque or calculus buildup. They will also examine the gums for signs of swelling or redness. Do not forget to share your medical history during the examination, like incidents of foul breath, shaky teeth, or gum irritation. The information helps with an accurate diagnosis.

If you have pockets, the dentist will measure their size. If they are deeper than the usual depth, it means you could be suffering from periodontal disease.

At advanced stages, gum disease causes bone loss and destroys ligaments. The periodontal expert must establish the extent of the damage using a dental X-ray. The general dentist cannot examine the mouth for jawbone loss if you still have teeth, so X-rays are necessary.

Lastly, particular medical conditions increase the risk of gum infection. These conditions include HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and cancer. When you have these illnesses, the immune system drops, making it difficult for the body to fight infections, leading to periodontitis.

Gum Disease Symptoms

Symptoms of periodontitis do not always manifest in the early stages. The condition can advance to periodontitis without you experiencing any symptoms. Nevertheless, in normal cases, particular symptoms could indicate that you have gum disease.

The first symptom of the condition is bleeding gum tissue. Healthy tissues are pink and firm. Nevertheless, it could indicate you have gingivitis when you notice them turning red and bleeding when brushing.

Another symptom of the disease is tender and inflamed gums. When plaque causes bacteria growth, the bacteria produce toxic acids and chemicals that irritate the gums, causing them to swell and become tender.

You can also tell you have gum disease when you observe your gum margins receding or pulling away. When this happens, the deeper gum tissue, the bone, and the larger section of the teeth are exposed. If you notice your gums receding, you could have advanced gum disease.

As bacteria eat away and destroy the gum tissue, ligaments, and bones, your teeth are exposed because of the weakened support structure. They start to feel shaky and sometimes can shift positions.

Foul breath has many causes, including poor dental hygiene and eating particular foods. Nevertheless, when halitosis persists, it could indicate you have periodontal disease. Foul breath is one of those symptoms that you cannot ignore because it lowers your self-confidence and makes it difficult to interact. Therefore, if you notice bad breath that does not go away even with proper brushing, you should speak to a periodontal specialist because it could be a sign of tartar buildup or gum disease.

Lastly, when your gums are tender and inflamed, it is normal to experience pain when chewing. Do not ignore these symptoms when you identify them. Speak to your periodontal dental specialists for a thorough examination and diagnosis to determine if you suffer from gum disease. If diagnosed with a condition, your specialists will recommend the appropriate treatment.

Periodontics Treatment

Once your periodontics specialist has diagnosed you with gum disease at whatever stage, the next step is to prepare a treatment plan. The treatment can be surgical or nonsurgical.

Nonsurgical Treatments

You do not require complex and highly invasive procedures to maintain healthy gums. Nonsurgical procedures are sufficient to arrest and prevent gum disease. The common nonsurgical treatments for gum disease are:

Root Planing

Plaque and calculus removal using standard teeth cleaning procedures like brushing does not produce results. Therefore, your dentist can recommend root planing as an appropriate treatment to prevent gum disease advancement. The procedure involves removing the tartar that accumulates in the gum margins. When the dentist removes the buildup, the risk of disease advancement reduces significantly. However, you should know an expert must perform that root planing.

Dental Scaling

Root planing removes tartar from the gum margins. Scaling, on the other hand, removes tartar on the tooth surface. It involves using a laser or ultrasonic tool to remove the sticky bacteria film that acts as the breeding ground for bacteria. Before the procedure, explain your dental health history to the periodontics expert because dental scaling could increase the risk of infection instead of reducing it.

Tray Delivery System

Another nonsurgical treatment for gum disease is custom trays prepared by taking an impression of your teeth. The trays fit perfectly on the teeth, and controlled medication is administered to the gums. These devices resemble fluoride trays used to prevent tooth decay.

Use of Antibiotics

Gum disease is a bacterial infection, meaning your periodontics expert can prescribe oral antibiotics to arrest the condition. Antibiotics are also administered after root planing. The dentist inserts them in the pockets where plaque has been removed to treat the infection that had already formed. However, administering antibiotics only happens when the condition is in its early stages.

Surgical Procedures

When periodontitis advances into the bones and gums, you will require dental surgery. The common surgical procedures your dental specialist will administer are:

1. Gum Graft

Gum disease causes the gum tissue to recede, exposing the tooth root. The receding leaves your teeth vulnerable as the pockets form to act as bacteria breeding grounds. Your periodontics expert can fix the problem using a gum graft.

The surgery entails generating new gum tissue that covers the exposed sections of the teeth to deter further recession and prevent the bacterial infection from spreading to the bone, causing bone loss and further weakening the tooth structure. The dental specialist harvests the soft tissue from your palate and surgically places it in the recession area. If the membrane on the palate is insufficient for harvesting, the dentist will find a donor. The treatment is appropriate if one or a few teeth have been affected by recession.

Patients prefer the treatment because of reduced sensitivity. Gum grafting is also beneficial because it protects the bones from mass loss stemming from continued recession. The procedure also restores confidence, as the teeth are no longer exposed. Besides, the surgery reduces the risk of decay, enhancing overall gum health.

2. Pocket Reduction

Sometimes, gum recession leaves huge pockets that antibiotics cannot treat, exposing you to the risk of periodontitis in the future. In these situations, your dentist can perform gum flap surgery to minimize the size of the pockets. They achieve this by surgically lifting the receding soft tissue back to its initial position. The dentist can perform a minor bone graft during the procedure if the infection affects the bone. Also, they perform scaling during the treatment to remove plaque from the tooth surface and gum margins.

3. Regenerative Procedures

Your periodontics expert can also perform bone or tissue regenerative procedures. When severe periodontitis occurs, the infection spreads deep into the gums and bones, destroying the tooth’s support structure. Your dentist can restore this structure by stimulating the body to regenerate more bone or gum tissue.

During tissue regeneration, the dental expert folds the receding gum tissue to remove the tartar and plaque in the area. The expert then places a fabric, filter, or membrane on the existing gum tissue to prevent future plaque buildup. When this is done, the soft tissue heals or repairs itself, reversing the damage.

In bone grafts, the periodontics expert harvests bone from a compatible donor or part of your body. The dentist then surgically places the bone on the one that has been severely weakened by gum disease. They then allow the foreign bone to fuse with the existing one, restoring its strength and providing robust anchorage for the tooth root. Your teeth regain their stability and strength with firmer bone and gum tissue.

4. Dental Implants

Periodontics experts also perform dental implant procedures where periodontitis causes tooth loss. Implants are artificial tooth roots surgically placed on the jawbone to support a dental bridge or crown. When it comes to implants, you can go for the ones installed on the jawbone called endosteal or subperiosteal, which sit on the jaw but not inside the bone.

However, before an implant, you must be in sound health and have sufficient bone to anchor the implants.

Gum Disease Complications

Common complications associated with gum disease include:

• Tooth loss.

• Cardiovascular disease.

• Premature labor.

• Lung infection.

• Lack of blood supply to certain areas of the body, otherwise known as gangrene.

Find an Experienced Periodontics Expert Near Me

Gum disease in the early stages is reversible. Nevertheless, when you allow the disease to progress into periodontitis, you will experience severe health complications, including heart disease, tooth loss, gangrene, and premature labor. Severe gum disease also means highly invasive or surgical treatments to address the problem. Thankfully, periodontics experts have extra training to treat all forms of periodontal disease regardless of the stage of the condition. At Tayani Dental Group, we have competent periodontists to prevent, diagnose, manage, and treat gum disease at any stage. Call us at 949-741-0795 for a no-obligation examination in Fullerton.