Many people suffer from different gum problems. The most common one is bleeding, especially when brushing your teeth. This is the most obvious sign of gum inflammation, which in simple case called gingivitis. Gingivitis is caused by plaque, which is a soft, sticky substance that builds up on your teeth if you don't brush them properly. It's straight invaded by bacteria, which fed on sugar from the plaque and make you gum infected. (Anyway plaque bacteria cause the decay as well by their by-product of acids.) Long persisting plaque later develop into calculus or tartar. The tartar too irritates the gum and also attracts even more plaque, making the process a vicious circle. While you can remove plaque by brushing your teeth very carefully, tartar can be removed only by scaling by your dentist or hygienist.
Most people's immune system can cope long with gingivitis quite well. However there are people who have much more aggressive bacteria and eventually end up with a more severe condition, the periodontitis. Periodontitis starts with gingivitis, but the inflammation quickly spread over the supporting bone around teeth. It has two types:
- One, which affects all teeth and makes the bone shrinking evenly. This shrinking is very slow with only mild inflammation and you can keep your teeth pretty long.
- The other type, which is more dangerous to your gum and bone, usually affects only a couple of teeth, but produces deepening pockets along the roots. These pockets are constantly inflamed because of the bacteria lodging there and the inflammation can be very severe and painful. Without treatment this condition eventually definitely results in tooth loss.
So if you have any of these problems, please don't wait too long, because you can risk losing your teeth! We are happy to help you to prevent this.