Blog – O’Fallon, MO

Also known as periodontitis, gum disease is responsible for causing severe damage to your gums, thereby affecting your jawbones largely. It typically occurs if you fail to maintain oral health with proper brushing and flossing. Here’s your guide to the stages of gum disease, which we bet you didn’t know. 

What Causes Gum Disease?

One of the major causes of gum disease is bacteria in the mouth, infecting the surrounding tissues of your teeth. This eventually causes inflammation around the tooth leading to periodontal disease. If the bacteria stays in your mouth for longer, it accumulates plaque and hardens to become tartar. Sounds horrific, isn’t it? It’s as horrible as it sounds, and gum disease destroys oral health massively. Apart from this, the following are some of the other major causes of gum disease and are as follows:

• Hormonal change often results in gum disease; surprised? Let’s tell you how. Conditions like pregnancy, puberty, and menstruation often alter gum inflammation, greatly worsening your gum health. 
• If you have a family history of gum disease, it might also lead to the same. 
• Defective or old dental work that doesn’t fit you anymore also causes plaque accumulation, which leads to cavities and affects your gums very badly. 

Symptoms Of Gum Disease 

• Bad breath 
• Shrinking of gums 
• Loose teeth 
• Tender gums 
• Pink-tinged toothbrush after brushing
• Pus between gums and teeth

What Are The Stages Of Gum Disease?

• Stage 1- Gingivitis 

The foremost stage of gum disease is gingivitis. You are most likely to notice frequent gum bleeding in this stage, even during flossing or brushing. Sometimes, gingivitis has no notable symptoms, such as redness or swelling. 

• Stage 2- Periodontitis 

Once you have ignored gingivitis, periodontitis will show up. This condition occurs when plaque accumulation continues and reaches below the gumline for an extended time. As a result of this, it triggers gum inflammation badly. 

• Stage 3- Advanced Periodontitis

If periodontitis becomes severe, you get into the advanced periodontitis stage. It’s considered a painful condition where bone loss becomes imminent, and gums become swollen and bleed. 

• Stage 4- Severe Periodontitis With Potential For Tooth Loss 

The last stage of gum disease is severe periodontitis, which can make you lose teeth. You don’t need to experience pain at this stage, but it’s still there. Some notable symptoms in this stage include bad breath and taste followed by teeth loosening. 

Treatment Options For Treating Gum Disease 

Scaling And Root Planing 

Gum disease is inevitable if you don’t maintain your oral health properly. However, this is only the case sometimes. Sometimes, even if you follow a strict oral health regime, you can still get gum disease. So dentists provide scaling and root planing treatment for you, which helps remove bacteria that cause bone and tooth loss. With these deep cleanings, you can reverse gum disease, which leads to better oral health. 

Professional Dental Cleaning 

With the help of professional dental cleaning, dentists tend to remove tartar and plaque from your gums. These two reasons primarily cause gingivitis, which affects your oral health. So, by dental cleaning, you can restore the health of gum tissue, thereby reversing its destructive effects. 

Periodontal Surgery 

Once a person reaches a severe periodontitis stage, oral surgery becomes the last resort. It’s also known as flap surgery or pocket reduction surgery. Your periodontist will make tiny incisions in your gums to lift back a section of your gum tissue. This will further expose the roots for effective scaling and root planning procedures. 

The Final Verdict 

Now that you know the stages of gum disease don’t let your oral health reach the last stage of it. Before it worsens, visit your dentist for an appointment and get your gums tested. Your dentist will be able to evaluate your condition and tell you which stage of gum disease you have. Since prevention is better than cure, treat gum disease before it’s too late.