Gum Disease Trenton, ON

Taking care of your gums is an essential part of your oral hygiene. Gum care starts at home, with a daily hygiene routine that includes flossing to clean below the gum line. Your dentist and hygienist will monitor the health of your gums and can recommend the best gum disease treatment options if they detect signs of inflammation or periodontal (gum) disease.

What is Periodontal (Gum) Disease?

Gum disease is a progressive disease that breaks down the gum tissue and bone surrounding your teeth. It is caused by bacteria in plaque and dental calculus. If left untreated, gum disease can lead to tooth loss and contribute to other systemic health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dementia.

According to the Canadian Dental Association, 7 in 10 adults will experience gum disease in their lifetime. The good news is gum disease is preventable and can be reversed if it’s caught early enough.

If it’s been more than 6 months since your last professional cleaning, request an appointment today!

Additional Information

Gum disease is one of the common oral health afflictions that people suffer from. Because gum disease progresses gradually and often without any painful symptoms, you may not realize you have it. Early signs of gum disease include sensitive and inflamed gums and bad breath. As it becomes more serious, it can cause bigger problems, such as excessive gum recession, loose teeth, and tooth loss.

For these reasons, it’s important to visit your dentist for checkups. Using the latest tools and methods, such as digital X-rays, your dentist can check the state of your gums to see if gum disease is present. If gum disease is present, your dentist will devise a suitable treatment plan for you. For early signs of gum disease, such as during the gingivitis stage, proper consistent flossing is enough to stop or even reverse it. However, if the gum disease has progressed to the periodontal disease, more aggressive treatments may be needed to eliminate the excessive amounts of plaque and infection below the gumline.

To eliminate the chronic infection, we may recommend a number of techniques such as local medication, curettage, and root-planing.

Specific medication may be injected into the infected site to contain the infection and prevent it from spreading to other areas.

Curettage is the process of removing the surrounding soft tissues around a tooth. By eliminating the source of infection, we are allowing your gum tissues to regrow and heal.

Root-planing is a technique that gets rid of and smooths the tooth’s root surface. This gives you a smooth and clean surface to allow the soft tissues to heal.

These techniques are often performed simultaneously by our hygienist. To ensure your comfort, local anesthesia is given as well. Because gum disease takes time to properly treat, your sessions will be spread out over several sessions to allow us to continue to check your condition. Depending on how your tissues heal and the state of the infection, we may recommend a periodontist should a surgery be required. Our skilled dental team will create a treatment plan to effectively treat your gum disease and restore your mouth to complete health.

Contact Trinity Family Dental, family dentist, to schedule an appointment.

Early Signs of Gum Disease (Gingivitis)

Signs of early gum disease, or gingivitis, include red, swollen gums. Your gums may also be tender or bleeding. It’s important to note that gum disease is often a silent disease – many people don’t notice any symptoms until it’s in its more advanced stages.

Symptoms of periodontal (gum) disease:

• Red, swollen or sore gums
• Receding gums
• Bad breath
• Pain when chewing
• Loose or sensitive teeth

You can treat gingivitis at home by eating a healthy diet, brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing daily. This will help reduce harmful bacteria in your mouth and give your gums a chance to recover.

Although you can brush away plaque, calculus (hardened plaque) can only be removed by your dental hygienist. Be sure to keep up with regular professional dental cleanings to keep hard-to-reach areas free of bacteria. Most people should get their teeth professionally cleaned at least every six months. Your hygienist may recommend more frequent cleanings depending on the condition of your teeth and gums.

If it’s been more than 6 months since your last professional cleaning, request an appointment today!