Frequently Asked Questions - General FAQs

Gum disease usually refers to a bacterial infection of the gums due to inadequately cleaned teeth. Yep you know it. You should have brushed better! These bacteria (bugs) multiply on the teeth and under the gum line. The body tries to defend you and in the ensuing battle, the gums are damaged by the bacteria and your own defences. The gums then become loose off the tooth and a pocket develops around the tooth. The jaw bone gets the message and it in turn starts to withdraw and be destroyed. Voila, you’ve got gum disease.The funny thing is , we call it gum disease but the key tissue is the bone. Lose the bone and you lose the tooth.

These are both layers of dirt that naturally form on your teeth. Within seconds of brushing, a natural healthy protective layer forms over the tooth. Bacteria that occur naturally in the mouth attaches to the protective layer. These bacteria multiply and become increasingly more complex in the type. Food particles and other oral debris are caught up in the ever increasing layers of bacteria. This soft easily removable multiple layered accumulation of bacteria and other particles are called plaque. It is currently called a biofilm because of its science fictional like ability to “think “and respond to threats and advantages. If this film is left undisturbed for too long, the natural minerals in saliva begins to harden or calcify the plaque. This hardened calcified and difficult to remove layer is called tartar or calculus in different countries.The different bacteria of the plaque produces many substances including waste products that form part of the intricate structure and function of the biofilm. The biofilm continues to function even when calcified layers exist.

The gums were designed in such a way that they do not have a very sensitive alarm system for gum infection. They have exquisite sensitivity for other physical issues but that’s a story for a different page. You may have very advanced and as far as the teeth are concerned terminal gum problems before you sense it at all. The best way to know if you have a problem is to see a competent dentist or oral hygienist on a regular basis and request that your gums are specifically included in the examination. However , if you want to do it on your own , here’s a list of possibilities depending especially on your level of oral hygiene , chewing gum and whether you smoke – receding gums , teeth look longer , tooth sensitivity to hot and cold, blood in your toothpaste when you rinse out after tooth brushing , blood on your floss , blood on an apple when you bite into it , red appearance of the gums , sensitive gums when touched by food , lack of power in your bite , sudden new awareness of your teeth when chewing , bad breath ( reported by others ) , loose teeth , changing tooth angles , spaces opening up between teeth that are still touching , spacing between teeth , single teeth becoming longer than the others , gums feel puffy when touched and sometimes other health issues like unaccounted tiredness , joint aches and pains , high blood pressure and inability to conceive.

When the gum is attacked by the infection, the way that the gum attaches to the tooth suffers first. This causes the gum to become loose off the tooth. This looseness allows a dentist to measure how deeply is the gum loose and this measurement is called a pocket.

When the gums are attacked either by infection or by an inappropriate brushing technique, the gum will withdraw down the tooth. This leaves an area of the tooth no longer covered by gum. This is a recession. Being long in the tooth or being told that the “gums are receding “is an expression used by many dentists in different cultures to tell you that you have gum disease.

Firstly, you will be taught how to keep the disease away and enjoy a healthy mouth .This will save you money. Secondly you get to keep your teeth.You may have spent some money and have a little sensitivity, but the teeth can stay. Thirdly, the general body health benefits are enormous. You are free of a so called septic focus or reservoir of highly infectious bacteria in your body-in your own mouth. Your body is on a lower state of alert (DEFCON) and the less activated defence cells there are in your circulation, the lower the chances of inflammatory damage to heart, joint and other body tissues.

The diagnosis of gum infection (periodontitis) is based mainly on the written or electronic recording of a range of clinical signs that may be visible in your mouth; this includes whether the gums bleed when touched, the colour, shape and the presence of pockets. Extensive laboratory testing is usually not indicated for routine gum disease. There are two tests that are simple and relatively inexpensive. The one test indicates the presence and relative predicted numbers of known gum infection causing bacteria and the need for and type of anti-biotic that should be used. The other test, tests for the presence of a factor in your gum fluids that indicates that you are of a more vulnerable body type and should take greater care in prevention of gum disease or higher frequency of professional care to keep you healthy.

It depends on the diagnosis, your vulnerability, the style and preference of your practitioner and sometimes your Insurance Carrier. It is not in your interest to rush the treatment and a slow but constructive long term relationship is often better than an expedited rush job. Do remember that you are working with living tissue and it needs time to respond. Also remember that you were present 24h/7d/52w while this condition developed. It may take time to change you!

You need to get rid of the cause. This means getting the teeth clean above and below the gum line. Then you need to keep them clean to a required standard which may differ for every individual. The teeth may have suffered irreversible damage due to the gum infection. You may have lost teeth and the teeth that are left may be healthy but loose. The treatment must assist the remaining teeth to cope with the damage that they may have suffered. Teeth may have to be connected (splinted) to allow them to work together as a group rather than as individual teeth, implants may be required to replace missing teeth and strengthen the team. Often, the remaining teeth may need to be adjusted to re-align the biting direction and ease any excessive strain on the teeth.

The periodontist and his staff may use simple hand tools called scalers, curettes and hoes to scrape accessible or tangible dirt (tartar and plaque) off the tooth surface. The accessible surfaces may then be polished with instruments and polishing paste , using a polish drill to remove surface roughess that would make the teeth to be more difficult to maintain clean. Power driven instruments, sonic, ultra-sonic, laser and chemical facilitators (tartar softeners) may be used.