Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease (commonly called gum disease) is an infection of the teeth, gums, and the bone that surrounds the teeth. Most people who have periodontal disease aren’t even aware of it. It’s rarely painful, especially in the early stages. The main cause of periodontal disease is the accumulation of calculus and biofilm both on the tooth and embedded into the gum tissue. A biofilm is a colony of pathogenic bacteria, unlike an individual bacteria, a colony is very resistant to brushing and flossing and can only be managed by your dental professional. Calculus shows up on x-ray films as a small white lump on the sides of the teeth. Bacteria that cause gum disease thrive here. Bacteria produce toxins, and it’s these toxins, combined with your own body’s reaction to them, that irreversibly destroy bone around your teeth. Periodontal disease has been linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, low birth weight babies, and preterm births.

Some of the warning signs of periodontal disease are:

1. persistent bad breath

2. bleeding gums when brushing or flossing

3. soft, swollen gums pulling away from the tooth

4. changes in the spaces between your teeth, which reflects changes in the underlying bone.

5. loose teeth

Keep in mind, however, that you can have periodontal disease and experience none of these symptoms. A general dentist like Lafayette CO dentist Dr. Gordon West will be able to determine if you have periodontal disease by measuring the crevise between the tooth and gum, called the sulcus. Sulcus measurements are usually 2-3 millimeters when the gum tissue is healthy, when it is deeper then 4 millimeters we call this a periodontal pocket which are excellent hiding places for plaque and bacteria and the start of periodontal disease.

How Does A Dentist Find Periodontal Disease?

1. perio probe readings greater than three millimeters

2. bleeding upon probing the gums

3. swollen and red gums, especially between the teeth

4. bone loss or calculus on your x-rays

Periodontal Disease Treatment

The beginning of periodontal disease treatment consists of cleaning the tooth surface, removing all plaque and tartar leaving a smooth surface, for patient comfort this is usually done under local anesthetic. Step two consists of cleaning the gum tissue of the biofilm embedded into the perio pocket (picture to the right). This can be accomplished using a couple different techniques. The CO2 dental laser is a very effective tool to eliminate the "red complex". Sometime we place localized antibiotics directly into the effected areas, this product is called arrestin. If the entire mouth is affected, we will sometimes place the patient on a systemic antibiotic using information from DNA testing to find out exactly what bacteria has colonized in the perio pocket.  The gum disease will never get better if the red complex is not addressed. More frequent periodontal maintenance visits are required to make sure the disease does not get worse.

If you have further questions about gum disease or periodontal disease treatment, call our Lafayette CO dentist office today at 720-862-3630, or send the simple form on the right, and we will be glad to contact you. 

Serving Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Broomfield, Brighton, Longmont, Erie. Denver and
Boulder County Colorado with Periodontal Disease Treatment