What Is Periodontal Disease?

Gum disease, called periodontal disease by dentists, causes inflammation of your gums and potentially even bigger problems. In fact, those more serious issues include bone loss, tooth loss, and even bigger health problems like heart disease. Gum disease has three stages, including gingivitis, periodontitis, and advanced periodontitis. However, your best defense against this common problem starts with regular dental exams at Laughlin Dental.

Signs and Symptoms of Periodontal Disease

Specifically, you don’t feel pain with gum disease. Therefore, you need to watch for symptoms, including:

Swollen or red gums
Tender gums
Bleeding gums or pus around your teeth and gums
Gums pulling away from your tooth
Receding gums
Ongoing bad breath or bad taste in your mouth
Loose teeth

You may have heard about gum disease. However, do you understand its causes? This multi-phase and progressing gum problem has one cause. That is bacteria of dental plaque. For example, plaque forms on your teeth 24 hours per day, especially when you eat rich, sugary snacks.

The good news is that gum disease treatment works. You cannot cure it, but you can keep it from becoming worse. You just need your dentist’s help through gum disease treatment at Laughlin Dental in Pasadena, Texas.

A woman getting her teeth checked by a dentist.

Stages of Gum Disease

The primary stages of gum disease include gingivitis and periodontitis. Left untreated, periodontitis grows worse and becomes the third stage of advanced periodontitis.

Gingivitis

Gingivitis irritates the gums around the necks of your teeth. Moreover, this happens because you let plaque build up along your gum line, where your teeth and gums meet. When this happens, you experience blood on your toothbrush with red, swollen gums.Health changes also cause the disease to become more intense. These health changes include medications, as well as hormone changes from pregnancy or puberty. Furthermore, you may detect your gum disease through frequent or constant bad breath.Preventing gingivitis is easier than you think. Simply maintain a healthy oral hygiene routine of twice-daily tooth brushing, daily flossing, and twice yearly dental office visits. Water picks, mouth rinses, and other cleansing devices help, too.

Periodontitis

Worsening gum disease becomes periodontitis. In fact, this stage also occurs because of plaque. It often leads to lost bone support for your teeth. Symptoms include the swollen, red, and bleeding gums, as well as gum pockets forming around your teeth.

Untreated, this stage advances and often leads to tooth loss. You risk advancement to periodontitis from gum disease if you smoke or suffer diabetes. It also worsens with obesity or poor oral hygiene. If you do not gain treatment for your gum disease at this stage, you risk other health problems like heart disease.

Family Dental Care and Services

Your dentist in Pasadena, TX provides the dental services you need for healthy teeth and gums. Some services involve oral surgeries through a specialist, whereas others take place in the dentist’s office. Services you can count on from Laughlin Dental include:

General dentistry

Restorative dentistry

Family dentistry

SureSmile

Cosmetic dentistry

Your dentist at Laughlin Dental works hard with you to help you avoid needing surgery. Focus on preventing your need for oral surgery through your best routine oral health care and hygiene. Start that best oral health by scheduling your next visit with Laughlin Dental now at (281) 801-6818.