Periodontal disease is also known as gum disease. It’s a serious and dangerous dental issue that develops when plaque is left on your smile. When you fail to remove the plaque, it attacks the teeth and gums. This can cause red, swollen and tender gums that bleed easily as well as persistent bad breath. It can also cause receded gums, pockets in the gums, loose teeth and even lost teeth.
Gingivitis is more treatable compared to periodontitis. This is because a simple professional dental cleaning can treat the problem. The cleaning will remove the plaque from the smile and promote healing in the gums. Periodontitis is tougher to treat because it develops when the plaque turns into tartar. Tartar is a toxic substance that causes severe damage. The treatments are typically more extensive because the plaque has turned to tartar and the tartar has damaged a majority of the smile. Some treatments that can help include scaling and root planing, frequent dental cleanings, laser therapy, bone grafts, gum grafts and more. Your dentist, Dr. Sean P Avera, might even need to extract the affected teeth and replace them with dental implants after the underlying bone has been restored.
Call Sean P Avera DDS Inc. today at 530-885-0953 if you have any questions or if you would like to know more. Our dental team will be more than happy to tell you all about gum disease in Auburn, California. We look forward to hearing from and helping you!