PERIODONTICS

What is Periodontal Gum Disease?

It's kind of important to understand any gum disease that affects approximately 95 % of the adult population. Periodontal gum Disease is a disease of pockets. A pocket is the space between your gum tissue and the root of your tooth. This space tends to trap bacteria which can cause all kinds of problems if left to their own devices. These pockets are analogous to sending your pants to the dry cleaners.

Invariably, some of the lint in your pants pockets is left after the dry cleaning process. Periodontal pockets tend to trap bacterial plaque much the same way. The dry cleaner's chemicals can not reach all the way down into the deep recesses of your pant's pockets. Well, neither can your toothbrush reach into your periodontal pockets to get at those incredibly damaging bacteria. It is the job of the periodontist to reduce your pocket depths to make them more accessible for cleaning.

What causes Periodontal gum disease? Bacterial plaque! Plaque is simply defined as an organized group of bacteria which causes inflammation and ultimately the destruction of gum tissues and bone. Of course, there are other causative factors such as nutrition, genetics, smoking, missing teeth, poor occlusion (bite), and various systemic diseases. Bacterial plaque, however, is the primary cause of Periodontal Disease.