Gum disease can vary from a range of different types of things, so it usually starts off with gingivitis, which is the most mild form of gum disease, and then it can progress to a severe form which is called periodontitis, and that’s when a certain number of other things happen in the gums that we don’t, you know, we don’t know about over time. And making sure that you come in every four to six months to get your gums checked, make sure everything’s nice and not inflamed, making sure that there’s no bone loss that we need to look out for. So prevention is key with gum disease, making sure that you come in regularly for your appointments and making sure that we get you established with the proper cleaning and ensure the best result for your gums over time.
Periodontitis, which is a very more severe form of gum disease, usually happens with time and age and not coming in on time and making sure that we take the proper x-rays that we need to, and we just like to make sure that you come in every four to six months so that we can prevent any sort of severe gum disease. Gum disease can lead to a number of systemic issues. It has a direct linkage to endocarditis, which is heart problems.
The bacteria found in your gums, when it progresses to a severe form of gum disease, can actually transmit to your bloodstream and actually infect part of a portion of the heart. It can affect diabetes. It can affect your blood pressure.
There’s a number of systemic issues that can go on when it comes to gum disease, and I don’t, I know people don’t really correlate, you know, gingival health or gum health with our overall body, but there’s a number of studies that have shown that it has a direct linkage to it, so making sure that your gums are healthy is kind of making sure that your overall body is healthy too. Don’t neglect your gums.
