Getting To Know More About Gum Disease

Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is a condition in which the gums, deeper supporting tissue, and potentially the bone surrounding teeth become infected and inflamed.

Gum disease starts with plaque on the teeth, a sticky white substance that coats teeth. It’s formed when bacteria in the mouth mixes with saliva and residues from starchy foods and sugar in your diet.

If plaque isn’t properly removed from teeth by brushing and flossing, it accumulates and hardens underneath the gum line into tartar. Once tartar builds up, it’s much more difficult to remove than plaque and usually requires a cleaning at the dentist. Over time, it can lead to inflamed gums, or gingivitis. This is a mild form of gum disease.

One of the most common symptoms is darker red gums that bleed with brushing or flossing. Professional cleaning can reverse gingivitis. If there is bleeding with pain, it is a symptom that the infection and inflammation has spread to the deeper tissues and bone, called periodontitis.

Gum disease is an infection of the tissues that support your teeth, or what we commonly call gums (periodontal literally means “around the tooth”). Ignoring this disease and leaving this infection untreated may cause the gums to break down. When you lose the gums supporting your teeth, your teeth fall out. It’s as simple (and as dreadful) as that.

Gums stay healthy only when the teeth they surround are clean — free of dental plaque and dental tartar, a crust formed through dental plaque that hardens over time. Dental plaque contains bacteria that produce toxins which irritate and damage the gums. When dental plaque and dental tartar build up around the teeth, gums become inflamed.

Now, when bacterial dental plaque feels completely ignored, they continue to destroy the gum tissues around the plaque-and-tartar-surrounded teeth, forming pockets. As you ignore them, they will keep on working towards deeper gum tissues and the areas of the jawbone supporting the teeth. At this time, your teeth may have either fallen out already, or are just about ready to go, at which point your gums and teeth will be absolutely impossible to ignore.