Gum Treatment in Bradenton
What Exactly Is Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal disease is a common condition that can develop at any age, although older adults are at higher risk of developing inflammation and infection in their gums. Hearing the news that you have gingivitis or gum disease might be upsetting. But, you have a good prognosis when you get help with gum disease in Tampa Bay area early. Our dentists are capable of helping you to make gingivitis reversible when we treat it in the earliest stages.
What Are the Causes of Gingivitis?
The causes of gingivitis often come down to a simple lack of good oral hygiene. When you eat or drink, substances form on your teeth that are called plaque. Brushing and flossing your teeth helps you to remove the plaque, but skipping these essential hygiene steps can allow the plaque to harden and become tartar, which is a primary cause of gum disease. Practicing proper oral hygiene is the best gingivitis cure, but you'll also benefit from regular dental cleanings that scrape away that irritating tartar.
What Are the Most Common Gum Disease Symptoms?
The symptoms of gum disease may not show up until the infection is fairly far along. Once the signs of gingivitis start to show up, you may notice the following symptoms:
- Red, puffy or sensitive gums
- Gum bleeding while flossing or brushing
- Bad breath
How Do Dentists Check for Signs of Gum Disease?
The symptoms of gingivitis are sometimes hard to distinguish from other types of gum irritation when you're checking in the mirror at home. At our dental clinic, our dentists have several more telling ways to identify the signs of gingivitis and determine just how far the gum disease has spread. In addition to swollen gum tissues, dentist looks for deeper gingivitis symptoms such as the gums pulling away from your teeth, visible pus between your teeth and gums, along with pockets that develop along the gum line.
An Overview of Gum Disease Stages
Finding the right gingivitis cure begins by identifying how severe the gum disease is during an exam. Early gingivitis treatment tends to be the most effective for completely eliminating the infection and inflammation, but you've still got hope if your dentist diagnoses you with one of the later stages of gum disease.
Early gingivitis symptoms, such as inflammation and bleeding, often clear up with a good dental cleaning and at-home care. Beginning treatment early is the best gingivitis cure, since it doesn't require invasive treatments. Using special mouth rinses, regular tooth brushing, and daily flossing are all types of care that most people are familiar with and comfortable doing. Our experienced dentists can check for the early signs of gingivitis to help you be successful at reversing gum disease.
If gingivitis treatment is overlooked, then gum disease will eventually progress to the next stage of periodontal disease. At this point in the gum disease progression, your dentist will notice that your gums are pulling away from your teeth, and there might be increased bleeding when you brush or get a cleaning. The pockets around your gums also become deeper, which increases the bacteria that accumulates in the soft tissues of your mouth.
The final stage of gum disease includes some disturbing symptoms. Advanced periodontitis involves infection that has weakened the bones and tissues that support your teeth. Your teeth might become loose or begin to shift out of their places. Seeking gum disease treatment at this stage can help you preserve your teeth, even if it's better to get help from our dentists earlier.
What Is the Best Gingivitis Cure?
If you're wondering if gingivitis can be cured, then you've got some good news to hear about gum disease. Reversing gingivitis is possible in the early stages of gum disease when keeping your gums and teeth clean ends infection and inflammation. Our dentists often tell patients that the best gum disease cure is already in their bathroom, since toothbrushing and flossing are extremely effective for lowering oral bacteria.
Types of Periodontitis and Gingivitis Treatment
When you seek out care for gum disease in the Tampa Bay area, our dentists give you a personalized treatment plan that involves varying levels of care. With advanced gum disease, we believe in taking an aggressive approach to lowering infection and inflammation that includes root planing and scaling along with potential treatment with antibiotics. In extreme cases of gum disease, we may recommend surgery, but we do everything we can to fight gingivitis and periodontitis before we make that decision.
Strategies for Reversing Gum Disease
Figuring out the answer to the question is gingivitis reversible requires working with your dentist to fight off early gum disease. The combination of good at-home care practices and regular dental cleanings goes a long way to restoring gum health. We encourage you to take early gingivitis symptoms seriously. Give us a call for a consultation that gives you insight into your gum health and makes it possible to preserve your teeth.