Periodontal Therapy Brampton

Brampton Ontario Dentist

Gum Disease Overview

Gum disease, also called periodontal disease, affects about 30% of adults and is the leading cause of tooth loss. It often causes people to need dentures. While it can’t be cured, gum disease can be managed with regular dental cleanings and good care at home.

Gum disease can progress without obvious symptoms. Many people with gum disease don’t feel pain, and they are often surprised by the damage it causes. Think of your gums and bone as the foundation of your teeth, like a house. If the foundation weakens, the whole structure is at risk.

Regular check-ups, professional cleanings, and good home care are key to managing gum disease.

What Causes Gum Disease?

Our mouths are home to millions of bacteria. Some are good, while others can be harmful. Harmful bacteria release waste that forms a sticky film called plaque on the teeth. Brushing and flossing help remove plaque before it hardens into tartar. Tartar allows more bacteria to grow, and they release toxins that irritate the gums.

Your immune system responds to this by causing inflammation in the gums. Around each tooth, there is a small pocket of gum tissue. If plaque and tartar build up in this pocket, it can lead to gum infection. Early signs of gum disease include bleeding gums, known as gingivitis. If untreated, this can lead to bone loss around the teeth. Many people feel little discomfort at this stage, but the damage is already happening.

More than half of the bone around your teeth can be lost before you notice any loosening or pain. Bone loss is permanent, so it’s important to treat gum disease early before it gets worse. Advanced gum disease can cause abscesses and tooth loss.

Diagnosis

To diagnose gum disease, we check several things. We measure the depth of the gum pocket around each tooth. Healthy pockets are usually 2-3 millimeters deep and easy to clean. If pockets are deeper than 3 millimeters and bleed when probed, gum disease is present.

We also check the shape and texture of your gums and see if any teeth are loose. X-rays help us examine the bone around your teeth to get a full picture of your gum health.

Treatment

Once we diagnose gum disease, we create a treatment plan based on its severity. For mild cases with little bone loss, one or two cleanings may be enough to control the disease. We will also provide you with a plan for home care and follow-up cleanings.

For more advanced cases, we may need to take more action to stop the disease from getting worse. This might include numbing your gums and performing a deep cleaning (called scaling and root planing) to remove tartar from under the gums. This is done over a few visits, one part of the mouth at a time. After the cleaning, we smooth the teeth to help prevent future buildup of plaque.

We may also recommend medicated mouth rinses, electric toothbrushes, or other tools to help you take care of your gums at home. Remember, gum disease can be controlled but not cured, so home care is very important.

Ongoing Care

Daily care at home is key to keeping gum disease under control. Plaque starts to form again within hours of a cleaning, and it hardens into tartar within 24 hours. Keeping deep gum pockets clean takes extra effort, so regular dental visits are crucial.

We will create a personalized plan for your follow-up visits, which may be two to four times a year depending on your condition and home care habits.

If gum disease continues to progress despite our combined efforts, we may refer you to a gum specialist (periodontist).

Mouth-Body Connection

Research shows that oral health is linked to overall health. Gum disease has been connected to conditions like heart disease, stroke, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and even some cancers. When gums bleed, bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream, leading to health problems elsewhere in the body.

People with diabetes or immune system disorders are more at risk for gum disease because their bodies can’t fight infection as easily. The inflammation from gum disease can also make diabetes harder to manage. This shows how oral health and overall health are closely linked.