How Does Gingivitis Progress To Periodontitis And How Does Dental Care Help Stop It?
Posted on: 25 May 2023
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Gum disease is a common cause of tooth loss, but your dentist can help save your teeth by treating it before it has a chance to progress. Gum disease starts with gingivitis, which is an infection in your gums that often causes them to appear red and inflamed. Gingivitis can also cause your gums to bleed and hurt when you're brushing or flossing your teeth. Gingivitis often goes away on its own with good oral hygiene, but it can progress to periodontitis if left untreated, and periodontitis is what can lead to tooth loss. To learn how gingivitis progresses to periodontitis and how your dentist can help stop this progression, read on.
How Does Gingivitis Progress to Periodontitis?
When the gums around a tooth become inflamed, they'll start to pull away from the base of the tooth. This creates a deep pocket surrounding the tooth called a periodontal pocket. Bacteria will enter the pocket and form plaque on the tooth, and this plaque is impossible to remove by brushing and flossing because it's beneath your gums.
As the infection worsens, your gums will continue to pull away from your tooth. This causes the periodontal pocket to become deeper. Once it's deep enough, the infection can spread into your jawbone, causing inflammation and destroying the bone tissue. If enough bone tissue is destroyed, you'll lose your tooth.
How Does Dental Care Halt the Progression of Gum Disease?
If you've developed a periodontal pocket around one or more teeth, a dentist can help stop them from becoming any deeper by performing a deep cleaning on those teeth. Deep cleaning removes the plaque around the base of your tooth that's causing your gums to become inflamed.
After cleaning your teeth, your dentist will apply an antibiotic gel to your periodontal pocket to destroy all of the bacteria infecting your gums, even the bacteria deep in the pocket. Once the antibiotic gel is applied, your dentist will use a planer to smooth out the surface of your tooth, which will help your gums reattach to it once all of the bacteria are gone and your gums are no longer inflamed.
If you notice signs of gum disease, schedule an appointment with a clinic that provides general dentistry services as soon as you can. It's important to prevent a deep periodontal pocket from forming, as it can cause your jawbone to become infected, and this can lead to you losing one or more teeth. Applying an antibiotic gel to the pocket and cleaning it will enable it to heal and close up, preventing the bacteria from hiding in it and causing an infection deep in your gums.
For more information, reach out to general dentistry services near you.