|
THIS DISEASE IS REFERRED TO AS THE SILENT KILLER: Periodontal disease is very prevenlent in many patients
and most of the time they are unaware of this disease. We do a thorough periodontal exam every six months as part of our maintenance
program. Many new patients come in with no real understanding of periodontal disease. Our objective is to educate and initiate
a perio program which is called scaling and root plaining to stop this disease. This disease can get into your bloodstream
and cause heart disease, weakened immune system, diabetes, stroke, lung disease, respiratory problems, osteoporosis and gastric
ulcers.
|
|
|
Some of the symptoms are:
1. Bleeding gums when brushing.
2. Gums that are red, swollen or
tender.
3. Gums that are pulled away from the teeth.
4. Pus between teeth and gums when gums are pressed.
5.
Permanent teeth that are loose or shifting.
6. Change in the way your teeth fit together when chewing.
7. Persistent
bad breath.
|
The chart above shows periodontal disease
starting from the early stage and as you look downward, you will see the more severe case. If treatment is not initiated the
patient will eventually loose their teeth as the bone supporting them deteriorates. Unfortunately as we loose teeth we also
loose bone, so after a few years we don't have enough bone left to support a denture. Chewing food and dealing with sore places
in the mouth become a real problem. It can lead to gastric problems from not being able to chew food up in small enough pieces.
|
|
This patient
has severe perio and calculus buildup on the all her teeth. This calculus has been there for many years and is causing
the patient to have extreme bleeding around her gums and major gum recession. It is very painful and unfortunately she
waited too long before she did somthing about it.
|
This picture
shows a severe perio case where the gums are swollen and highly inflamed. These gums would bleed extremely easily.
|
