Don’t Take Your Smile for Granted
It’s easy to take the health of your smile for granted. However, maintaining a healthy smile takes effort and a commitment to protecting your long-term oral health. Failure to brush and floss daily, combined with scheduling regular cleanings with our team at McKenzie River Dental, could result in the need for dental crowns or periodontal treatment.
Don’t leave the health of your teeth and gums to chance. By knowing how to recognize periodontal problems, you can receive treatment from Dr. Schilt and the rest of our team at McKenzie River Dental.
Let’s take a look at a few of the signs that may indicate you need to receive periodontal help from Dr. Schilt.
Inflammation
Severe gum disease, a condition known as periodontitis, develops due to poor oral hygiene. When you don’t floss and brush daily, you give harmful oral bacteria that ability to build up and multiply.
Over time, an accumulation of oral bacteria will develop into plaque, a sticky biofilm that clings to the surface of tooth enamel. When allowed to remain on the surface of your teeth, plaque hardens into tartar, a yellowish substance that discolors enamel and contributes to the development of gum disease.
Once tartar is firmly entrenched, it contributes to a process that causes the body to respond the way it does whenever it confronts an injury or illness – by developing inflammation. While a little inflammation can help to fight off bacteria, prolonged inflammation causes pain and discomfort.
Early stage gum disease, a condition known as gingivitis, causes gum tissue to swell and appear red and irritated. Patients with gingivitis often experience bleeding from their gums, especially after brushing or flossing, and may report their gums feeling sensitive to the touch.
If your gum tissue appears red or swollen, you need to visit Dr. Schilt to have your gums examined. While gingivitis is easily reversible, it can lead to the development of the far more serious periodontitis, a condition that can permanently alter the state of your smile.
Gum Recession
When gingivitis begins to progress into periodontitis, the disease attacks the soft tissues in the mouth. This causes gum tissue to begin to pull away from the base of your teeth, creating small pockets along the gum line.
These pockets expose the delicate roots and nerves of your teeth, along with the underlying bone structure that holds your teeth in position. Once exposed, oral bacteria can begin to accumulate under the gum line where it begins to weaken the structures that hold your teeth in place, leading to…
Loose Teeth
Once teeth start to move or shift, serious damage has already occurred to the foundation of your oral health. Loose teeth typically indicate thinning bone or the development of an infection like periodontitis. If your teeth feel loose in any way, you need to immediately schedule an appointment with Dr. Schilt and our team at McKenzie River Dental.
Even if you notice movement so slight you wonder if it’s all imagined, you need to seek out immediate dental care. Any movement you may notice will only get worse the longer you wait to receive treatment. Waiting too long to receive care will lead to the worst possible outcome…
Tooth Loss
By the time tooth loss occurs, your oral health will require significant treatment to repair. A deep root scaling and planing may be required to help restore your gums back to health. Additionally, replacing a missing tooth will necessitate the placement of a dental implant and crown, or potentially the need for dentures, depending on how severe the tooth loss.
The loss of a tooth begins a domino-like process that threatens the entirety of your oral health. Once a tooth is lost, teeth that neighbor the hole in your smile will begin to shift and move position to fill that gap. This creates even more instability and will lead to future tooth loss.
The process then repeats itself, and eventually you’ll have no teeth remaining.
Protect the Health of Your Smile
Don’t take your smile for granted. Contact the team at McKenzie River Dental today to schedule your next consultation with Dr. Schilt, and take the first step towards reclaiming your oral health.