Gum Disease and Bone loss
Today's topic is not very different from the ones I
have mentioned on this column so far. It is actually a topic that I
touched upon on several times for various reasons. Periodontal disease
that is widely known as gum disease is what I am going to talk about
today. It is so necessary to mention its importance as it is the main
cause of early tooth loss and especially bone loss. Moreover, in spite of
today's advanced technology it is still not possible to distinguish the
malicious gingivitis from the harmless one. That is why, early diagnosis
and preventing the disease to re-occur after treatment are of great
importance.
Let's talk about the inescapable problem that we have
to face everyday. During the day plaques around our teeth continue on
piling up if not brushed at all. Further more, they stick to that area and
become even more difficult to get rid off. The most important sign of this
consequence is the swollen and red gums.
So
what happens if we continue to avoid this first sign? When
these plaques are not cleaned off, the problem continues to become bigger
and bigger. They get into such a stage that after a period of time such as
2-3 months, dentists are the only ones to deal with this problem and get
the teeth cleaned. The reason for this is, no matter how much we brush our
teeth it is impossible to remove the piled up plaques by ourselves.
We
cannot visit our dentist so what can we do in order to get rid off these
piled up plaques by ourselves?
Now this is quite a serious case. Because, plaques not
only gather around teeth and give way to redness and swollenness but also
go into the gums and within this stage they separate the teeth from the
gum. The warning signal of this stage is the continuously bleeding gums.
By the way, it is wise to remind an important point ones again. For the
smokers it is difficult to understand any kind of problem related to gum
disease since smoking reduces the amount of bleeding therefore gives way
to ignorance and causes bigger dental problems. For either this very
reason or just avoiding the dentist leads to 'bone loss' which can be
named as the most vital problem in dental wise.
Photo 1
Excessive
gum recession is a sign of bone loss. This photograph belongs to a 29-year-old lady.
You may wonder about why this problem has occurred in the lower gums
rather than upper gums. The areas where we come across with gum recession
and bone loss are most likely to be seen around lower front teeth and
upper back teeth. The reason for this case is due to having salvia coming
out from these parts and also these parts to be the most common areas for
plaques to be piled up.
Photo 2
This graph shows the stage 'bone loss' has
reached.
