Why Periodontal Disease Should Be a Concern to All

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Why Periodontal disease should be a concern to all Periodontal disease is more commonly known as gum disease or gingivitis. This infection is serious enough, that it can lead to tooth loss if left untreated. This chronic infection starts around the tooth and it affects the supporting bone and gums. Why should Periodontal disease be a concern to all? Periodontal disease can affect anywhere from one tooth to all thirty-two teeth. The disease pathology starts with the plaque that builds up on your teeth every day. The plaque built up causes the gums to become red and inflamed. If not properly brushed off, the remaining plaque will also cause the gums to bleed. This stage of periodontal disease is commonly referred to gingivitis, literately meaning swelling of the gums. There’s no real pain associated with gingivitis. It is curable with a good dental cleaning and proper brushing and flossing at home. However, if left untreated gingivitis can lead to advanced periodontal disease. After a person has had untreated gingivitis for some time, plaque starts to grow and spread. It travels down below the gum line and the bacteria produce toxins. These toxins irritate the gums and cause the body’s natural defenses to kick in. When the inflammatory response has been triggered for a while it causes the tissues that support the teeth and bone to break down. The gums begin to pull away from the tooth and a pocket forms. A pocket is a space between the gums and teeth. The deeper the pocket is, the further the gums are from the tooth, and more advanced the periodontal disease is. A normal pocket depth of a healthy tooth is between one and three millimeters deep. Gingivitis is 4 millimeters deep. A pocket depth of five to tooth loss is advanced periodontal disease. Periodontal disease usually starts as gingivitis and then progresses from there to mild to moderate to

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