Deep Pockets….. oh my! No, I’m not talking abut your wallet! I’m talking about your gums. You know that exam where we ‘poke your gums’, call off a million numbers,“ 3…2..3…7 (uh-oh)…” and you tell us at your dentist cleaning in Manchester it doesn’t bother you and they wouldn’t be that deep if we didn’t poke at them. Yup, those are the pockets I’m referring to. The ones that lead to gum disease!
Periodontal disease (often referred to as gum disease) is an infection in your mouth that affects the tissues and bones that support your teeth. As the infection progresses, the teeth and gums that support them become damaged causing eventual loss of the teeth.“But I come to the dentist every 6 months and nothing ever bothers me!” True, gum disease can happen even if we are faithful in maintaining our recare visits. This is one of many reasons it’s important to keep your appointments at your dentist cleaning in Manchester and not postpone vital care.
Every time you come for your visit the hygienist and doctor are evaluating the health of your mouth and gums. X-rays give us a visual of your bone levels and the amount of support around them. X-rays also allow us to compare them from year to year to see the speed of progression. In conjunction with x-rays, we do a periodontal assessment (aka… poke your gums) to put a number and actually measure what we see on the x-rays. Our digital charting allows us to monitor a 3 year history.
Thankfully it’s not something that hurts. But, it can make you sick, beyond just your teeth. When you have periodontal disease, it hosts a type of bacteria that live in your gums and they don’t need air to breathe! Why is this a big deal? Well bacteria that don’t need air to breathe can travel within your blood stream, and this bacterium has been found in people who have had cancers, arthritis, heart attack and stroke. Untreated periodontal disease has also been found to effect diabetes control and is correlated with low and pre-term birth weight in babies.
Wow! This IS serious stuff! So how do I prevent it? Well, lets start with maintaining your regular dental hygiene visits. This allows your dental hygienist and dentist to evaluate your gums on a continuous basis at your dentist cleaning in Manchester. Next, effective tooth brushing and flossing is essential. You can ask your dental hygienist if you are in need of modifying your technique.
Lastly, follow your dentist and hygienist recommendations on treatment of periodontal disease. This may include scaling and rootplaning, gingival flap procedures, or seeing a periodontist as well as increasing the amount of times you come per year for your dental cleanings in order to properly maintain your dental health. Looks like you have a lot to talk about at your next visit!
