Periodontics is Important For Your Dental Health

To fully appreciate the role that dentists play in periodontal care, one first must understand what periodontics entails. Periodontics is the aspect of dental healthcare that deals with preventing, diagnosing, and treating infections and diseases that affect the gum and other tissues around the teeth.

The tissues that may be affected by such infections would include the bone and other fibers supporting the teeth. If such infections are left to fester unchecked and untreated, they would eventually result in the loss of teeth, thus, necessitating future dental bridges and implants. Even at that, further surgeries might still be needed to repair gum tissues, cover up exposed roots, and even correct indentations in the jawbone and gum of patients.

However, all of this would only occur if proper care isn’t taken to prevent it, and this is where knowledge of periodontal diseases/infections comes into play. 

What can lead to periodontal diseases and infections?

• Plaque: This is notorious for leading to the discoloration of teeth, but if allowed to thrive due to poor hygiene, it could lead to gum infections and gingivitis over time
• The poor dietary lifestyle and oral hygiene: it isn’t uncommon for people to indulge in unhealthy diets nowadays, and provided oral hygiene routines are capable of combating the effects of these diets, there shouldn’t be much of a problem, however, in cases where poor diets meet poor oral hygiene (or inadequate oral hygiene practices) the potential for periodontal infections to develop increases drastically
• Smoking and tobacco chewing: increased tobacco use has been associated with the development of pockets between the teeth and gums and a loss of fibers important in holding the teeth to the gums. In addition, nicotine and tar present in tobacco also reduce the effectiveness of periodontal treatment. Even people who chew tobacco are not entirely out of the woods as they are more susceptible to oral cancer
• Health conditions and medications: Individuals who suffer from certain illnesses that lead to or are associated with immunosuppressive effects could be left more susceptible to periodontal infections. Medications that affect the oral microbial flora and the health of the gums could also be potentially harmful. This is one of the reasons why regular visits to the dentist for the review and updating of medical/dental information is important

How does periodontics help?

Periodontics focuses on training dentists that could prevent these infections and treat them in the case of infected patients. In summary, the field and its associated professionals ensure that sensitive treatment options such as tooth scaling, root planing, and regenerative procedures to restore lost bone and tissues can be carried out safely. In most cases, though, the primary goal is to ensure that the need for such treatments never arises.

Request an appointment here: https://www.carolinasmilesdentist.com or call Carolina Smiles Family Dental at (828) 884-3702 for an appointment in our Brevard office.

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