60% of Adults Don't Know Much About Gingivitis
If you don't know too much about gingivitis, don't feel bad
A recent poll showed that 60% of adults know little about gum disease, its symptoms, causes, treatments, and consequences. Gingivitis, the top dental problem for people over 18, is the mildest form of gum disease. This early stage of gum disease develops when bacteria build up between the gums (gingiva) and the base of the teeth they surround. Improper cleaning of teeth and under the gum line causes Gingivitis. If you've only got gingivitis, consider yourself lucky. Gingivitis acts as an early warning signal that you could be heading for serious dental health problems. In fact, Gingivitis is the baby brother of Periodontitis. (inflammation around the tooth) This more severe form of gum disease is connected with the loss of teeth.
What Symptoms does Gingivitis present?
Here's the good news. Most symptoms are mild: • Gums are moderately inflamed
- Gums are sensitive to touch
- Gums bleed easily while brushing, flossing, or probing
- Gums might itch
- Bad breath might be present
Now, the bad news. Most symptoms are mild. Because Gingivitis symptoms are easy to ignore people often do just that. Many gingivitis patients don't even know they have Gingivitis because they have no obvious symptoms. As a result, their disease can progress silently to a more severe dental disease, Periodontitis, without warning.
How Do You Get Gingivitis? Teeth and gums need to be kept clean. While heredity and other medical factors can influence the development of Gingivitis, the primary cause is poor oral hygiene. Food trapped under the gums combines with bacteria to create plaque, a "toxic stew" that irritates the gums and makes them bleed. This colorless film of sticky material containing food particles, bacteria, and saliva attaches itself to the tooth above and below the gum line encouraging Gingivitis and tooth decay. Then plaque, the "toxic stew," hardens into tartar (calculus) in just 24 hours. Each day this "contaminated crust" grows. That's why you need to remove plaque every day no matter what. Only a dental professional can remove tartar.
Why Should You Worry About Gingivitis? Untreated, Gingivitis leads to periodontitis. Gingivitis can mean minor blood loss; Periodontitis can mean significant tooth loss. The evidence is mounting of potential links between Gingivitis and more serious health concerns. Healthy immune systems usually fight off the bacteria developing in the mouth. When this protection is compromised in any way, the added bacteria in the bloodstream appear to increase the risk of stroke or heart disease. Remember, it's not what Gingivitis is but what it leads to - irreversible Periodontitis and likely tooth loss.
Dental professional will check plaque and tartar build-up above and below the gHow Do You Find Out if You Have Gingivitis? Visit your dentist twice a year. During the exam, your gums will be assessed for Gingivitis - bleeding, swelling, and firmness. Also, under your gum line.
What Gingivitis Treatments Are Available? Early Gingivitis is reversible with professional treatment and regular oral care at home. The dentist or hygienist will probably help reduce the current buildup of tartar by scaling the teeth. Scaling removes tartar and plaque from the surface of the infected teeth.
Reversing Gingivitis is all about daily plaque control - essentially sound oral hygiene. That means, in most cases, stopping the plaque in your mouth is really in your hands. Brush every day. Floss every day. Period. Your dentist or oral hygienist may recommend fluoride toothpaste or tartar reduction rinses. The FDA approves Colgate Total for helping to prevent gingivitis by reducing plaque and tartar.
Dental professionals recommend oral irrigation as an excellent way to really clean teeth and gums. Oral irrigators get what toothbrushes and floss don't, so plaque and tartar never come back. Oral irrigators flood the mouth with a jet of water under pressure to flush offending food particles and bacteria from the mouth.
And now there's fresh evidence that Gingivitis responds well to oral irrigators. Flossing could work. But, most people just don't floss enough. Only 35% floss and only 2-15% floss every day. Flossing is too much trouble, too unpleasant.
1000's of Oral Breeze customers love their Oral Breeze. They brush away food and then breeze away plaque. It feels so good to breeze.
Gingivitis is preventable, and Gingivitis is reversible.