Healthy Gums And Beautiful Smiles In Hoover, AL

Healthy Gums And Beautiful Smiles In Hoover, AL

Hello from Hoover, Alabama! Here at Perrigo Dental Care, our mission is to keep your mouth healthy and your smile looking great. As part of our preventive care, we also keep a close watch on your gums, because they play such a vital role in your oral health.

Truth be told, nothing will destroy your smile faster than undiagnosed or untreated gum disease. And nobody in our dental office wants that for you!

It Starts As Gingivitis

Gingivitis is your body’s response to being attacked by the bacteria contained in plaque. This is the first stage of gum disease and, if it isn’t ignored, it is actually quite treatable (and reversible).

How will you know you have it? Well, it starts out by causing bad breath and a mild inflammation of your gums.

Unfortunately, you might not even know you are dealing with this condition until a dental professional points it out. Maybe it’s time to schedule your 2016 preventive appointments!

As it happens, gingivitis can be accelerated by lax oral hygiene practices, tobacco use, poor diet, hormonal changes, and even genetics. And as the plaque build up extends under your gumline, gingivitis will give way to advanced gum disease.

That is when the real trouble begins!

Periodontal Disease Makes Matters Worse

Gum disease won’t go away on its own. By the time you are dealing with advanced gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, your gums will be sore, swollen and often bloody.

This is certainly not fun! But that isn’t even the worst part. As this disease intensifies, your teeth will start loosening up and falling out. This surprises some patients, since gum disease doesn’t technically harm the health of your teeth. Still, since it targets your gums and bone structure, your teeth will be left with no support structure to hold them in your mouth.

Take our word for it, this can be physically painful and traumatic on an emotional level.

Periodontal disease doesn’t only affect your oral health, either. It will ravage your entire body, given a chance! That’s crazy, right?

Gum Disease Gets Around

It is staggering to consider the damage that gum disease can do. Did you know that diabetes, respiratory disease, and heart disease may be linked to the same bacteria that causes gum disease? True story! There also seems to be a link with some types of cancer!

The thing to consider is that, once the infection hits your bloodstream and your lungs, there’s no telling what adverse effects it can have on the rest of your body. That’s why getting treatment as early as possible is essential for achieving a good outcome.

Perrigo Dental Care Can Help

As we mentioned earlier, the effects of the early stages of gum disease can be easily reversed. Coming in regularly for your professional cleanings and dental exams is vital. During your cleaning, we will look for any possible infection or disease and treat it.

Keeping up with your oral hygiene at home (brushing, flossing, and rinsing) is also a big help.

In many instances, this combination will put you back on the right track for maintaining healthy gums and a beautiful smile.

In the event of severe gum disease, we will refer you to a periodontist. And if there has already been tooth loss, we will need to explore restoration options such as dental implants.

Rest assured that, no matter what you are dealing with, we will be here to help restore your health as soon as possible.

Learn More, Get Started Now!

We hope that today’s blog post will inspire you to reclaim your oral health. Contact our Hoover, AL, office today to schedule your consultation.