Until you have to deal with it, gum disease can seem like a distant threat; something to be aware of, but not something you think you’ll have to deal with any time soon, or ever. Yet, once gum disease develops, its presence can become the biggest concern for your immediate and long-term oral health, threatening your ability to maintain your healthy, natural smile. At our Lake Orion, MI, dental office, we can help you avoid that threat by treating gum disease promptly with customized periodontal care and maintenance. The sooner you get your gum disease under control, the more effectively you can save your smile from its potentially devastating consequences.
The way to prevent gum disease
Because it’s considered a chronic disease, the best way to save your smile from gum disease is to prevent it from ever becoming an issue. That relies largely on the quality and consistency of your dental hygiene routine. Gum disease starts as an infection in your gums, known as gingivitis, that develops when an excess number of oral bacteria gather on and underneath your gum line. Preventing gum disease means preventing this buildup, which means practicing excellent dental hygiene every day and visiting your dentist for routine checkups and cleanings.
Why time matters once it develops
The better your hygiene practices and the more consistent your checkup and cleaning schedule, the greater chance you’ll have of preventing gum disease. Yet, it only takes a small slip in your hygiene and preventive care routines to allow bacteria a chance to infect your gums. The good news is that, if you develop gingivitis, you may have a small window of time to reverse it completely and avoid the development of gum disease. However, it’s common for gum disease to progress and become a permanent concern by the time many patients seek treatment.
What happens if you let it progress?
Even if gum disease is too progressed to reverse it, you can still preserve your healthy smile by controlling it with customized periodontal management. That includes a comprehensive deep cleaning, or scaling and root planing, to remove the oral bacteria from underneath your gum tissues. This will remove the source of the infection and make it possible to restore the health and integrity of your gum tissues.
Treat gum disease to protect your smile
If your gums have become diseased, then we can help you protect your smile by designing an appropriate treatment plan to manage it. To schedule an appointment, call Lake Orion Family Dentistry in Lake Orion, MI, today at 248-693-6213.
