What Causes Periodontal Disease?

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• What Causes Periodontal Disease?

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• Periodontal disease is a common dental disorder
  that most people are unaware that they have. When
  patients are first diagnosed with it, they often
  ask Dr. Qureshi at Healthy Smiles of La Grange
  What causes periodontal disease? This disease
  often starts with plaque, a sticky substance
  composed mainly of bacteria. Although brushing
  and flossing helps to remove plaque, it can be
  hard to keep it off your teeth. That is because
  plaque re-forms within 24 hours of you removing
  it. One way to reduce the risk of developing
  plaque is to avoid foods with a high sugar
  content.

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• When your teeth get heavily coated with plaque,
  it eventually causes tartar. This is a hard
  substance that can be difficult to remove from
  the teeth with normal brushing and flossing.
  Eventually, plaque and tartar eat away at your
  gums and teeth and cause gum pockets to form.
  This becomes a vicious cycle because gum pockets
  attract even more plaque, tartar, and bacteria.
  When you dont get treatment for periodontal
  disease, it can threaten the health and stability
  of your teeth. You may even lose one or more
  teeth to the disease.

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• Besides poor oral hygiene habits, the
  following risk factors increase the likelihood of
  developing periodontal disease
• Diabetes
• Advanced age
• Use of tobacco and illegal drugs
• Dental restorations that dont fit properly
• Improper bite
• Hereditary factors
• Poor nutrition
• Decreased immunity

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Treatments for Periodontal Disease

• Once periodontal disease has developed, its
  important to treat it as quickly as possible. Dr.
  Qureshi may advise you to undergo root planing
  and scaling, a process also known as deep
  cleaning. This removes bacteria and decreases the
  size of gum pockets. You normally come to Smiles
  of La Grange for at least two separate deep
  cleaning appointments.

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• Afterwards, its important to eliminate the risk
  factors you can control and commit to brushing
  and flossing your teeth at least twice daily. Dr.
  Qureshi only recommends dental surgery to remove
  gum pockets when deep cleaning and home care
  fails to bring lasting relief of periodontal
  disease.
• If youre concerned about the possibility of
  periodontal disease, please contact our clinic at
  any time. You dont have to wait until your next
  scheduled exam to ask questions or request
  additional cleaning by our staff.

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