If you don't know much about the gum disease, (Periodontitis) don't feel bad. A recent poll showed that 60% of adults know little about gum disease, its symptoms, causes, treatments and consequences.

Periodontitis (inflammation around the tooth) is sometimes confused with Gingivitis, the top dental problem for people over 18. Gingivitis acts as an early warning signal that you could be heading for the serious dental health problem - Periodontitis. This more severe form of gum disease is usually connected with loss of teeth.

Periodontitis is usually caused by the improper cleaning of teeth.

What Symptoms does Periodontitis Present?

Periodontitis is like Gingivitis on steroids. While Gingivitis is about irritation, Periodontitis is about separation - your teeth from your gums and eventually, you from your teeth.

• Teeth may look longer as gums pull away from teeth
• Teeth don't fit together as before
• Permanent teeth get loose
• Gums bleed easily while brushing, flossing, or probing
• Gums might itch
• Bad breath might be present

How Do You Get Periodontitis?

Most of the time, Periodontitis is caused by poor oral hygiene. Teeth and gums need to be kept clean. And normally this disease creeps on you, beginning as reversible Gingivitis and progressing to irreversible Periodontitis.

While heredity and other medical factors can influence the development of Periodontitis, the major 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 Periodontitis 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 to avoid Periodontitis. Only a dental professional can remove tartar.

Why Should You Worry About Periodontitis?

Untreated, Gingivitis leads to Periodontitis. Gingivitis can mean minor blood loss; Periodontitis on the other hand can mean major tooth loss.

Evidence is mounting of potential links between Periodontitis and more serious health concerns. Healthy immune systems normally 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.

There also seems to be a connection between Periodontitis and Preeclampsia, a condition of hypertension occurring in pregnancy, typically indicated by fluid retention and high blood pressure.

How Do You Find Out if You Have Periodontitis?

Visit your dentist twice a year. During the exam, your gums will be assessed for Periodontitis - bleeding, swelling, and tooth firmness. In addition, your dental professional will check plaque and tartar build-up above and below the gum line.

What Periodontitis Treatments Are Available?

Preventing Periodontitis is easy â€" treating it is not. It's a brush now or brush later proposition. Periodontitis is manageable with professional treatment and regular oral care at home. Various treatment options are available depending on the severity of Periodontitis:

• Scaling removes tartar and plaque from the surface of the infected teeth.
• Root planning smoothes tooth surfaces to promote the re-connection of gum tissue to the teeth. This approach reduces the pocket that has formed between soft gum tissue and the hard tooth exterior
• In Flap Surgery, the specialist lifts back the gums to remove tartar and diseased tissue from the root level
• Soft tissue grafts augment gums by stitching grafted tissue form the roof of the mouth over the affected area.
• Bone surgery reshapes the bone near the infected tooth making it harder for bacteria to grow. The rest is up to the patient.

Managing Periodontitis 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 own hands. Brush every day. Floss every day. Period. Your dentist or oral hygienist may recommend fluoride toothpaste or tartar reduction rinses. Colgate Total® is approved by the FDA for helping to prevent periodontitis by reducing plaque and tartar.

Dental professionals recommend oral irrigation as a great way to really clean teeth and gums. Oral irrigators get what tooth brushes and floss don't, so plaque and tartar and the resulting Periodontitis 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 Periodontitis responds well to oral irrigators.

How Do Oral Breeze Products Treat Periodontitis?

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 OralBreeze customers love their OralBreeze oral irrigator. They brush away food and then breeze away plaque. It feels so good to breeze. Brush n' breeze daily to treat Periodontitis. Every day, brush after meals and breeze before bed.