What is it?
Periodontal disease/gum disease, can be a lifelong condition that requires constant maintenance. It is a widely experienced disease that perhaps is not fully understood by many of the people who suffer from it.
Periodontal disease is characterized by two things – pocketing and bone loss. Both of these things left un-treated can cause the teeth to come loose and in extreme cases fall out.
Pocketing – If you have periodontal disease, you may have experienced your dentist or Oral health professional using a probe to gently poke your gums. The periodontal probe that is used has very small lines on the end of it that serve as measurements. The purpose of this probe is to determine if there are any pockets present in your mouth.
When the gingiva becomes diseased it begins to detach itself from the tooth, this is what we call “loss of attachment”. In conjunction with this loss of attachment, you then develop what we call a “pocket”. This is where the dental probe comes in, it is able to slide down where the tooth and the gingiva are supposed to be attached and will provide a measurement of how deep the pocket is. Pockets are a good way for your dental professional to monitor the extent of your periodontal disease. Healthy gingiva has general pocketing between 0-3mm. A periodontal pocket begins at a measurement of 4mm and above. If left untreated the pockets can get up to 10-11mm. Your Dental professional might recommend a Periodontal Chart – which is a detailed recording of every pocket in your mouth, this is a way in which to monitor the progression of your periodontal disease and help them to see if it gets any worse or any better.
Loss of attachment resulting in pocketing is often very hard to reverse. Occasionally it if there are extremely deep pockets with very close attention and a specialists help you may be able to retrieve some gum attachment back onto the tooth, but if it has gone quite far then rarely does it ever go back to the normal.
Bone Loss – This is the endgame of periodontal disease and is exactly what it sounds like, you begin to lose the bone that is holding your teeth in. This happens over time, but you can sometimes lose so much bone that your tooth starts to become mobile and could eventually fall out. Bone loss occurs when periodontal pockets are left unchecked and continue to get deeper and deeper. As they get deeper the bone around the tooth resorbs even more. Unfortunately, Bone loss is permanent and is unable to be reversed.
You cannot see this bone from the outside so bone loss can be monitored and checked through x-rays. Your Dental professional might request a big OPG x-ray which captures your entire upper and lower jaw, depending on the severity of your periodontal disease.
Symptoms of Periodontal disease
- Bad breath
- wobbly teeth
- Shrinkage of the gums (reccession)
- Sensitivity to cold
- Large gaps between the teeth causing food traps
- bleeding of the gums
- recurring localized infections or abscesses
- generalized pain
Where does periodontal disease come from?
Usually periodontal disease is caused by prolonged poor oral hygiene. It can also be hereditary or genetic and is commonly found in heavy smokers. Often a person doesn’t go from healthy gums straight into having periodontal disease, it is something that develops over a number of years and consistent lack in oral hygiene. The first stage to periodontal disease is what we call gingivitis a reversible condition – inflammation of the gums.
A persons Oral Hygiene might not always be the only contributing factor. Much like other diseases in the body if there is a history present in the family you may be more prone to developing it. It is the same with periodontal disease. There have been some studies that show there is a correlation between having heart or lung disease and also periodontal disease.
Poor Oral Hygiene is a huge factor in preventing and maintaining periodontal disease. Gingivitis – the first stage of periodontal disease, which is irritation and inflammation of the gums happens when bacteria has been sitting on the gums for too long undisturbed. When the bacteria’s environment remains undisturbed it develops into stronger more resistant anaerobic bacteria that directly causes periodontal disease. At the point in the disease where you are experiencing pocketing there is a much higher urgency to good oral hygiene. This is because the pocketed areas are extremely hard to clean the deeper they get and they serve as ‘secure homes’ to the disease’s bacteria, enabling the disease to progress further.
The best way to prevent gingivitis from progressing is to brush morning and night for 2 minutes each, and to floss at least once a day. If you find doing these activities causes bleeding in the mouth that is a sign of active gingivitis and you need to continue.
The dental effects of periodontal disease are a good reason to consider quitting smoking