This article explains what periodontal disease is and how the bacterial infection that ultimately causes tooth loss progresses.

One of the most common and pervasive diseases in the United States is periodontal disease: an advanced and chronic infection of the soft tissue (gums) surrounding the teeth. As much as 80% of the population presents with some form or stage of this disease, say Connecticut dental implants experts. The leading causes are poor oral hygiene, failing to see the dentist regularly and bad habits such as tobacco-use, hard drinking and drug abuse. This also makes periodontal (gum) disease one of the most preventable ailments affecting society, say Connecticut dental implants experts.

Connecticut Dental Implants: A Revision of Tooth Anatomy

 

Your teeth are composed of the most resilient material in the body. But beneath their hard, protective outer coating of dental enamel, lies the softer and more easily eroded dentin, say Connecticut dental implants surgeons. Beneath that is the heart of the tooth (pulp chamber), where the delicate collection of nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue is housed. Cavities in the dental enamel, therefore, pose a very serious risk to the health of the tooth. Once bacteria have infiltrated this outer defense, there is very little the body can do on its own to protect the heart of the tooth – the pulp chamber – against infection.

What you need to understand about bacteria is that they are tiny, tiny organisms, say Connecticut dental implants experts. You may like to think of your teeth and gums as being invulnerable to them, but this is about as far from the truth as ex-planet Pluto is from the sun. What you might perceive to be as the tiny, impenetrable spaces between your teeth are, on a microscopic level, huge wide open spaces that offer protection against the roaming bristles of your toothbrush. And while your gums may appear to be sealed firmly against the crowns of the teeth, through the (metaphorical) eyes of bacteria they too are wide open sheltered spaces, say Connecticut dental implants experts.

Connecticut Dental Implants: The Progression of Gum Disease

Gum disease begins as gingivitis; a mild bacterial infection of the gums. Because this condition doesn’t tend to cause much pain, patients can live with it for many years, say Connecticut dental implants surgeons. Without treatment, the disease-causing bacteria continue to multiply and penetrate deeper and deeper into the gums. Safe from any of the home oral hygiene measures you may employ, the colonies of bacteria and their waste products begin to accumulate in deep pockets in the tiny spaces between the roots of the teeth and the surrounding gum walls (the gingival sulci).

The gums become irritated, inflamed, swollen and then begin to pull away from the crowns of the teeth, say Connecticut dental implants experts. Deposits of bacteria harden to form tartar, rendering the teeth a far more unattractive shade of yellow, brown and even green. The teeth become loose, the gums tear easily and bleed and eventually, patients will start losing their teeth. It is at this advanced stage of disease that many patients finally seek treatment from Connecticut dental implants experts. What they don’t realize is that their problems go MUCH further than just the need for teeth replacement using Connecticut dental implants.

 

Patients presenting with advanced periodontal disease first require surgery to eliminate all the bacteria, calculus and infection that plagues their oral cavity. Only once a measure of oral health has been restored will a Connecticut dental implants surgeon consider addressing the functional and aesthetic problems caused by having missing teeth.

Connecticut Dental Implants: The Take-Home Message

Allowing oral problems to go undiagnosed and unaddressed leads to problems that are not only far more uncomfortable and painful to treat; the solutions needed are far more expensive too. Look after your teeth and gums, stress Connecticut dental implants experts. Even the most sophisticated tooth replacement techniques today can’t rival your own biological technology.