When you want to keep your smile healthy, it is important to focus on your gums as well as your teeth. While keeping your teeth clean is vital to oral health, your gingival health is key to securing your smile in place. These tissues seal the roots of your teeth and jaw from bacterial infection, and when an infection occurs, this seal can be broken. Losing enough gum tissue can eventually progress to loosening or even losing your teeth. This issue is the primary cause of tooth loss for adults, so protecting your gum health is key to keeping your teeth. Understanding the symptoms of gum disease can help you detect it and seek treatment. Remember that in its first stage, gingivitis, it is possible to reverse an infection.
At your Ankeny, IA dental practice, we stress the importance of healthy gums at each of your checkups. When you come in for an appointment, your routine cleaning removes bacterial deposits that can harm your gingival health. By examining your gum tissues, we can detect symptoms such as inflammation or bleeding that may indicate an infection. When necessary, we can place you on a periodontal maintenance schedule to treat your disease and help you maintain your oral health.
Recognizing The Signs Of Gum Disease
Brushing and flossing your teeth each day is your primary protective behavior against oral threats such as gum disease and tooth decay. By removing plaque, you remove the bacterial deposits that can infect and destroy your gum tissues. When you combine these behaviors with semiannual visits to the dentist, we can help you detect a gum infection if it takes place. Chronic bad breath, bleeding gums, and sensitive tissue are all possible signs of disease that you should notify your dentist of right away.
Receiving Periodontal Maintenance
If we discover a case of gum disease, we could place you on a maintenance therapy schedule to remove bacterial pockets and reduce your symptoms. Caught in its first stage, gingivitis, gum disease is reversible, but treatment at all stages is available to help prevent it from progressing further. A deep cleaning can remove oral bacteria below your gumline and clean your teeth’s roots to allow your gums to heal and reattach. As this cleaning is more involved than a general checkup, it may take more than one visit to complete.
Talk To Your Ankeny, IA, Dental Team About Maintaining Your Gum Health!
When you visit your dentist every six months, you help take care of your gums with regular cleanings and a chance to discover changes in your oral health. Making your gum health a priority serves the strength of your smile across a lifetime! To schedule a visit, call your Ankeny, IA, dentist’s office at 515-207-6182.
