When is Gum Disease No Longer Reversible?
Gum disease occurs in adults when proper oral hygiene is neglected. In the early stages of gum disease, it is painless but with time it will become very painful and even detrimental to a person’s health.
Gum disease develops slowly and so without proper diligence, it could go unchecked before it is reversible.
Early stages of Gum Disease
In the earliest stages of gum disease, bacteria will develop which is known as plaque and begin to form and stay on the teeth for extended amounts of time. Plaque creates toxins which are harmful to the teeth and gums and over time, will deteriorate them. The earliest warning signal a person will notice when dealing with gum disease is irritation of the gums followed by bleeding.
Irritation occurs from the toxins the plaque have created and bleeding will be cause from brushing the teeth, even if you brush properly. At this stage, gum disease is known as gingivitis and can be reversed with the proper medical care.
As the gum disease progresses, the gums on the upper teeth will recede and become more irritated. It is possible for the gums to recede so far that the tooth root becomes exposed and a person will experience sensitive teeth, though they have never experienced sensitive teeth in their life. At this stage of gum disease, a regular teeth cleaning is no longer effective at treating the disease, and we will have to conduct a periodontal scaling which is more extensive and time consuming.
If the disease continues to go unchecked, it is irreversible. A person who experiences a severe loss of gum will inevitably lose teeth due to decay and loss of gum structure. From this point, the best procedure is to remove teeth before they cause a greater infection.
In order to prevent gum disease, it is always important to take good care of your teeth by flossing and brushing twice a day. However, daily brushing and flossing will not be enough to combat the effects of plaque buildup, and we recommend you come see us at least once every six months so that we can remove all of the buildup.
