Gum Treatment (Periodontics)

 

Gum disease is one of the two most common diseases that affect our oral cavity. This disease affects the gum and bone surrounding the teeth. The disease does not produce obvious signs and symptoms until it has progressed to an advanced stage. In all stages of gum disease, patients usually suffer from bleeding gums as a result of bacteria causing damage to the gums.

Gum specialists (Periodontists) are specially trained dentists who detect and treat the complete range of gum diseases.

What is Gum Disease?

In order to understand gum disease, we need to first understand the structures surrounding the tooth. The tooth is divided into the crown and the root. The root is surrounded by bone, which in turn is covered by gums. There is a space between the tooth and gums, called a pocket, which is present both in healthy and diseased states.

Gum disease originates from bacteria that gain entry into the pocket. When bacteria enter, they attack the gums. This causes injury to the gums, resulting in spontaneous bleeding upon touch, pain, redness, and sometimes swelling.

If bacteria hardens to form tartar, it can spread deeper towards the bone and cause the destruction of the bone and as well as the deepening of the periodontal pocket.

In the advanced stage of gum disease (periodontitis), the tooth would have so much bone lost that it becomes shaky and may drift out of position. During the later stages of gum disease, the tooth can no longer be kept and has to be extracted.

The accumulated bacteria in the infected gums can enter our blood stream to be transported to the various organs; such as the heart, kidneys, and womb; in the body. The maintenance of good oral health is paramount in controlling a series of health problems that will occur with gum disease, but having said that, it becomes a vicious cycle as it is also established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that patients afflicted with conditions such as diabetes are prone to the worsening of gum disease.