How to Recognize, Prevent and Treat Gum Disease

How to Recognize, Prevent and Treat Gum Disease
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Simon_Wenley]Simon Wenley

Gum disease is a disease of inflammation. It is probably along with tooth decay, the most common infectious disease inflicting humans' worldwide. If your gums bleed when you brush your teeth or even eat crunchy foods then you have gum disease. If you have calculus behind your teeth - then this results in inflammation of the gums, forcing gum recession, bone loss, loose teeth and contributes to toxic load in the body.

What is gum disease?

Gum disease is:

1. Painless

2. Can affect your general health

3. Can result in losing your teeth from loss of bone (Periodontal Disease)

4. Can contribute to the overall toxic load to the body from the toxins of inflammation leading to early death most commonly from heart disease and stroke.

What causes gum disease?

It is simply caused by bacteria that build up on the teeth around the gum line. This bacterium is called plaque. Often this plaque absorbs calcium and phosphate "salts" dissolved in the saliva. This then forms a hard deposit called 'calculus' also known as 'Tarter'.

Gums that bleed are not normal

As a dentist I see this sort of picture nearly every day. Most people know they have this build up but think it is normal. They also know they have bleeding gums and because it is painless and occurs the entire time, think it is normal and healthy. IT IS NOT ONLY NOT NORMAL BUT VERY UNHEALTHY.

Teeth need to be brushed thoroughly

The crazy thing is plaque can be kept under control. Most of us are poor at brushing our teeth well. We go into automatic mode, walk around; some even brush their teeth in the shower to save time. Even if you think you are doing a good job by brushing twice a day, you may not being doing a thorough job. Very few of us, clean in-between their teeth on a daily basis with dental floss or special inter-dental spiral brushes or even dental wood sticks. If the plaque can be controlled then the 'tarter' will not form.

A good dentist is one who talks to his clients. Our job is to educate and inform. Doing a good job of keeping teeth clean requires "Coaching". We are creatures of habit when we brush we will miss in the same places every time, probably use the same number of brush strokes every time, spend the same amount of time every time. The fact is a dentist can get a bird's eye view of your teeth and see all the areas that are not cleaned. Let's change our view of how you regard your dentist. A good dentist is a "COACH" - a tooth coach.

Mouth rinses can resolve gum disease

The good news for many is that once the symptoms of gum disease (and tooth decay) are treated then the cause of the disease can be treated (Bad Bugs). There is a lot of current research being carried out in this field and a group of researchers from America have developed a program of mouth washes to shift the balance from the bad Bacteria to the good Bacteria. These mouth rinses are only available at dental surgeries. We now assess patients' risk factors. The risk groups are simply low, medium, high and extreme.

What are the major factors that cause gum disease?

It is established that plaque and tarter are the sole cause of Gum Disease. This is mainly due to poor dental hygiene i.e. not brushing and flossing teeth thoroughly. Sometimes using an electric tooth brush can change bad brushing habits. Or changing the brand of toothpaste - whatever it takes to clean teeth thoroughly will help to resolve gum disease.

There are however contributing co-factors that can make the disease process worse. Here is a list in no particular order:

1. Poor Nutritional status as in a heavy loading of refined carbohydrate and high GI foods e.g. sugary foods and foods made from refined white flour, processed foods and take-aways, sugary drinks and energy drinks.

2. Lack of some vitamins especially Vitamin D. Gums seem to be worse in the winter months when we don't get as much sunlight. Sunlight stimulates Vitamin D production. I recommend (and use myself) advanced quality broad-spectrum nutritional supplements to support your immune system and that contain the full spectrum of vitamins, chelated minerals, antioxidants including Vitamin D3.

3. Depression.

4. Diabetes both Type 1 and Type 2

5. Some medically prescribed drugs that can dry up saliva e.g some of the blood pressure tablets and anti-psychotic drugs as well as recreational drugs

6. Smoking - This is a big one

In conclusion gum disease is destructive and very unhealthy and can contribute to premature death. On a brighter note it is controllable with good home care and regular dental visits to a caring dentist to get re-motivated to start flossing again (that you gave up, after running out of dental floss, after you were fired up after your previous dental visit).

Go see your Dental Coach regularly. Don't put off your dental visit - regular check-ups save you money and needless pain.

Simon Wenley is a dentist in Auckland, New Zealand. He strives to educate people to make regular visits to his office to reduce the cost of dental care and to avoid pain. Simon recommends that you find a mercury-free dentist who uses intra-oral cameras and digital x-rays so that you can become involved with your oral health. For more articles and videos visit http://www.simonwenley.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Recognize,-Prevent-and-Treat-Gum-Disease&id=4766062] How to Recognize, Prevent and Treat Gum Disease