Must Gums Recede As We Age?

gum disease

Do you believe that gums must recede as we age? If you do, then it might seem natural to you to lose teeth. I have known people in their late 80’s and I am surprised to see that they still have their complete set of teeth. They say that they have been very cautious when it comes to the food they intake and with proper home care.

Funny how some elderly would stick out their dentures and scare their grand children away – happy bonding time with the family, something really worth reminiscing. But do you know that there is more to life than just making the children in your family have a good time when they see you play with your dentures? Besides brushing and flossing, have you tried the hydrofloss yet? 

Perhaps you are making it appealing to them so that they tend to like the idea or at least accept that they would lose their teeth one by one. I have actually asked a child who had his first permanent molar extracted at the age of 12. Imagine how many years more he has to live without his first molar. This does not bother him as he is actually enjoying the idea that he may soon wear dentures. Wouldn’t it be better to use a mouthwash like therabreath?

Some patients sound weird as they talk to the receptionist that they are having several incisors extracted due to little discolorations. I thought to myself, I am so fortunate to have mine complete never having to undergo multiple extractions and never ever considering having one. Essential oils, like those in Oramd may be helpful. 

And I realized that the greatest secret of the successful ones is that they meticulously cared for their teeth throughout their lifetime. You don’t have to lose your teeth as you grow old. Gum recession does not have to be part of the aging process.

Learn more about what you can do to prevent or stop gum disease.

Disclaimer: If you have or think you might have gum disease or any other health problem, please visit your doctor or periodontist for advice, diagnosis and treatment. This article is for information purposes only and does not intend to provide advice, diagnosis or treatment for any health condition.

Avoiding Pain At the Dentist’s Office

Have you ever stopped to wonder why so many people dislike going to the dentist’s office? Many people find even a basic checkup to be painful.

Before having your teeth cleaned, one of the dental hygienist’s duties is to check the health of your gum tissue. He will undoubtedly look at your pocket depths. You can then ask about using an oral irrigator known as the hydrofloss.

Here, for some people is where the trouble begins. When gum tissue is diseased, it feels a lot like someone shoving pins into your gum tissue. However, healthy gum tissue does not have that problem. Normally, dental probing will not invoke pain with healthy gum tissue.

So, if you are one of those who feels that the doctor or hygienist is shoving pins directly into your gums, it is very likely that you have some gum disease. Ask your dentist to verify and diagnose the condition.

Unfortunately, some dentists do not spend a lot of time educating patients about this problem. That situation can lead to greater problems for the patient.

Yet, after the problem has progressed to a certain point, they will offer you a special ‘deep cleaning’ or other relatively expensive treatment to help take care of your problem. Alternatively, they may refer you out to a periodontist for possible gum grafts or surgery. There is a nice oxygenated mouthwash called therabreath that might be helpful.

I can not imagine that sounds good to anyone reading this. Therefore, I might suggest that you focus more on the prevention of gum disease or stopping its progression once it starts.

Many people are surprised that they have gum disease. If the statistics are accurate, there should be no surprise. Those numbers tell us that up to 80% of people have some form of gum disease. Oramd is an interesting possibility. Learn what you can do to prevent this potentially costly problem from visiting you and our family. Learn to prevent gum disease or stop its progression today. Look below the disclaimer to find links to additional information.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes and does not intend to render advice, diagnosis or treatment for any health condition whatsoever. If you have or think you have a health or dental health condition, visit your doctor or dentist for advice, diagnosis and treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about any products mentioned in this article.

 

Are You At Risk for Periodontal Disease?

gum disease

While there are certainly risk factors for gum disease such as smoking, chewing tobacco and pregnancy, it is important to realize that gum disease can strike anyone.

Our lives as human beings are often riddled with stress which can also be a factor. I think it is important to point out what the ’statistics’ say about this disease. Basically, most dental professionals will quote that up to 75% of people have gum disease in some form right now.

Staggering, isn’t it? If true, and I see little indication that it is not true, that means if you line up 10 people right now, the majority of them will have some form of gum disease.

I also suspect that a number of people think that because they have recently visited the dentist and the dentist did not say anything, that it means their gums are healthy. This also, may not be the case.

I know from personal experience that my dentist was not ready to spring the full details on me until it was time for a SRP (Scaling and Root Planing) procedure – often called a ‘deep cleaning’. I think it is incredibly sad that any dentist would wait that long.

I believe a periodontist I know told me that it has been studied and shown that general dentists are not always focused on the patients periodontal health. It makes sense, right? General dentists are primarily interested in finding and fixing defects with your teeth.

Yet, I would not want to let them all off the hook so easily. They know very well what gum disease looks like and they are capable of detecting it even when it is very minor.

So, what does all this mean? It simply means that you need to really make double and triple sure you are not facing gum disease RIGHT NOW.

The reason why is that gum disease can lead to gum recession, which makes your gums more vulnerable to additional attacks and recession, etc. In other words, it can become a vicious cycle.

What is the number one cause of tooth loss? Gum disease is.

Bad NEWS? Not if you take action to insure your dental health or to regain it if you have already lost some of it. The odds? The odds say you could have some form of gum disease right now. The fix? Learn all that you can now.

David Snape is the author of What You Should Know about Gum Disease

*Disclaimer – I am not a doctor or dentist. If you have or think you might have gum disease or any other health problem, visit your doctor or dentist for advice, diagnosis and treatment. This post is for information purposes only and does not intend to provide advice, diagnosis or treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about any products mentioned.