How to Treat Gingivitis

One thing many dentists complain about is the lack of knowledge of the general population about how to treat gingivitis. When you think about it, you really can't blame them. Of all of the things that could potentially go wrong with your dental health, this is definitely the biggest. You can say you are too busy to worry about one more thing the medical industry warns us to watch for. You can say you will take care of it if a problem arises. The truth is if you took a little bit of time now you could save yourself a lot of time and money later.

Gingivitis or gum disease, as it is sometimes called, is easily prevented. It only takes a little time to learn how to protect yourself. Honestly, more dentists would be happier if they never got to show patients how they treat gingivitis. When it becomes necessary, dentists have a few tricks up their sleeves for treating this common disease.

• Pocket reduction
• Regeneration
• Soft tissue graft

The pocket reduction procedure involves using an antiseptic solution to completely annihilate the gum disease causing bacteria that have attacked the gums. Your dentist will then use a scraping tool to even out any rough, damaged areas on the surface of the teeth. That's really about it for this one. The rest of the healing is up to the gums. As time passes, the healthy gums will reattach to the healthy teeth and all will be well in Mouthville. This method for how to treat gingivitis has enjoyed a great deal of success.

The regeneration method for how to treat gingivitis is a little more involved. Like the pocket reduction procedure, the bacteria must be completely eliminated. From there a genetic specific solution is applied to the damaged areas. The hope is that the regrowth from the solution will be enough to heal the damage caused by gum disease.

With the soft tissue graft, tissue from healthy parts of the mouth is grafted over the damaged and dissolved sections of your gums. This procedure can take several attempts before the damage is completely healed. Many patients complain of discomfort during this treatment for gingivitis.

Now that you know how to treat gingivitis, do yourself a favor and do everything you can to prevent ever needing those treatments. A good way to do this is to use OraMD® in place of your regular, commercial toothpaste. Gum disease can show up at any time; during youth, older age, or pregnancy, gingivitis is an equal opportunity disease.