What is gum disease?
Gum disease, also known as Periodontal disease, is a common infection of the gum and jaw bone. It affects 3 in 4 people at some stage of their life and is the major cause of tooth loss in adults over 40. Inflammation of the gums is known as Gingivitis, which left untreated can lead to Periodontal disease.
Our Dentist’s advice: Your gums should never bleed while brushing or flossing. Good oral hygiene and regular ‘maintenance’ visits with a dentist or hygienist are the best ways to prevent gum disease.
Gum disease is silent – it can often progress painlessly in the early stages. However if untreated and the infection spreads, this can lead to irreversible damage to your jaw bone and loss of teeth.
Gum disease can occur to your whole mouth or just to one or two teeth, although eventually all teeth will be affected to some degree if it is not treated.
Any of the symptoms below indicate you may have gum disease:
- Bleeding gums when you brush or floss
- Swollen gums that are red, sensitive or inflamed
- Gums that are pulling away or receding from the teeth
- Pain in gums or teeth
- Pus that comes out between your teeth and gums
- Separating or loose teeth
- A change in the way your denture fits
- Bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth
Gum disease, also known as Periodontal disease, is a common infection of the gum and jaw bone.
Today’s Dentistry in Brisbane can treat your gum disease.
Periodontal disease is best prevented or treated early. This is why maintaining regular dental check-ups with our dentists and hygienists in our Brisbane practice, is so important.
If your infected gum is more advanced our dentist will need to carry out ‘deep cleaning’, identifying and removing all the bacteria which is causing your gum disease. While this can be painful, Today’s Dentistry believes that all dental procedures can be carried out painlessly and will find a solution to ensure this happens in your treatment.
Treating gum disease early is important because it has also been linked to other health problems.
These include:
- Increased risk of heart attack or stroke
- Problems during pregnancy
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Lung infections
We give you all the options – you decide
It is our policy and approach to give you open and honest advice on all your options, alternatives and the associated cost of treating your gum disease, allowing you to make the most informed decision. Following your treatment we will then continue to work with you to ensure that the Periodontal disease does not return.
We treat patients from all areas of Brisbane and invite you to call our friendly reception staff on (07) 3263 2677 or Contact us. They are never too busy to talk to you about potential gum disease, or any other dental problems that you may have questions about.
