Dental Blog

How To Stop Gum Disease

Gum disease is the most prevalent disease in humans. In addition to damaging the gum and jaw bone, medical doctors have proven that the bacteria that collects under the gum line can get into the blood vessels and travel to other parts of the body, just like any other infection.

As a result, the bacteria of gum disease have also been proven to cause heart disease and diseases in joints and other organs. In addition, pregnant women with gum disease have been shown to have smaller babies and more spontaneous abortions than similar women without gum disease.

1. Understand What Causes Gum Disease

The germs in the plaque on your teeth trigger the body’s inflammatory response. The damage caused in gum disease depends on how your body reacts to the germs.

• Learn more about what causes gum disease

2. Proper Daily Oral Hygiene

One of the most important steps in preventing gum disease is proper daily oral hygiene.

• See Dr. Simon’s own daily routine

3. Use the Right Products

Using the right products and devices to make your home care more effective is very important in preventing gum disease.

• Learn more about our recommended products for optimal home care.

4. Proper Diet and Nutrition

Maintain your general health with a proper diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat and low refined carbohydrates (sugar), vitamins and minerals.

5. Regular Professional Cleanings

The next step to preventing gum disease is to get regular professional cleanings. Even the best brushers and flossers will miss areas of plaque between the teeth and under the gum line. That is where the dentist or hygienist can help by removing deposits of plaque or calculus and diagnosing gum problems before they get serious.

• Learn more about diagnosis of gum disease.

6. Check Your Bite

The last step to maintaining good periodontal health is to be sure that you don’t have any bite problems. Bite problems often lead to tooth clenching or grinding. That powerful force on the teeth could damage bone and loosen teeth.

• Click here to go to the article by Dr. Simon submitted to the Academy of General Dentistry on Dental Problems Caused by Tooth Grinding.

Gum disease is, as you can see, rather complicated but, generally, very controllable. The first step is to learn what to do. The next step is to take action, and you’ll be on your way to a healthy dental future.

* Please note that we cannot guarantee that the solutions offered here are definitely applicable to your condition since we have not examined your mouth. However, if you know the solutions that are generally applied to dental problems, you will be  much better informed  and will likely make better decisions in your own dental health care.