As the name suggests, gum disease is a bacterial infection that affects your gums and is more common than you can imagine. Whether you have gum disease or want to understand more about this common oral health issue, you are in the right place.

Gum disease begins as gingivitis, where your gums become swollen and red, but when left untreated, this condition could progress to severe stages, possibly leading to tooth loss. Understanding the different stages of gum disease and the associated symptoms can help detect the infection early for immediate treatment.

Scheduling regular dental appointments is one of the ways to detect gum disease during its onset. During your regular dental appointments, our dentists at Los Angeles Advanced Dentistry will keenly examine your mouth using cutting-edge technology to detect whether you are at risk of gum disease and offer appropriate treatment if necessary.

An Overview of Gum Disease and its Causes

Also commonly referred to as periodontal disease or periodontitis, gum disease is a common oral health problem that affects several people worldwide. However, it is preventable because it does not occur overnight.

The infection usually begins with the accumulation of plaque (a yellowish thin layer of bacteria) on the surface of your teeth, primarily due to frequent consumption of starchy and sweet foods. When left unchecked, the plaque hardens to tartar, which encourages the growth of more harmful bacteria towards your gums and tooth roots.

In response to this accumulation of bacteria on your tooth roots and their acidic excretions, your gums become irritated and inflamed. After a while, the bacterial attack will cause your gums to pull away from your teeth, creating periodontal pockets that provide the bacteria with a conducive environment to thrive.

If left unchecked, the bacteria multiply and release more acidic excretions, which damage your gums, teeth, and anchoring bone structure, eventually leading to tooth loss. However, some people are more prone to gum disease than others due to the following factors:

  • Hormonal changes — Hormonal changes during pregnancy, menstruation, menopause, or menstruation can increase your risk of gum disease because these changes make your gum more sensitive
  • Certain medical conditions — Some medical conditions, like HIV and Cancer, can weaken your immune, increasing your risk of gum disease
  • Certain medications — Some medications, like antidepressants and oral contraceptives, can reduce the saliva in your mouth, which acts as a natural antibiotic to keep bacteria at bay. Conversely, other medications like anticonvulsants Dilantin and Adalat can increase your risk of abnormal growth of your gum tissues
  • Genetics — If your family has a history of dental and oral health issues, like gum disease, you could be at risk of developing this condition
  • Poor nutrition — Your daily diet could put you at risk of gum disease. That is particularly true if you often consume starchy and sugary foods, which provide mouth bacteria with the sugar they need to multiply
  • Stress — Like HIV, stress could weaken your immune system, increasing your risk of developing gum disease
  • Tobacco smoking and chewing — Using tobacco-related products could increase your risk of developing gum disease because they affect your body's natural healing mechanism
  • Crooked or overlapping teeth — People with crooked or crowded teeth are at risk of gum disease because they create an ideal environment for bacteria to build up and multiply. Also, crooked or overlapping teeth are challenging to clean effectively during your daily dental healthcare routine care, increasing your risk of gum disease
  • Poor oral and dental hygiene — Inadequate flossing and brushing of your teeth could lead to plaque buildup on the surface of your teeth and below your gum line, leading to gum disease

While gum disease itself is not contagious, the bacteria causing the disease is infectious, meaning an infected person can pass it from one person to another through saliva during kissing. Sharing utensils with an infected person could also expose you to periodontitis-causing bacteria.

Understanding how the periodontitis-causing bacteria can be shared can help you take proactive steps to prevent the infection. That is particularly true if someone close to you is battling gum disease.

Various Gum Disease Stages You Should Be Aware of

As mentioned above, gum disease is not an overnight infection. It begins as a mild inflammation of your gums, and the condition worsens with time. In a nutshell, here are the different stages of gum disease you need to familiarize yourself with, even if you do not have the infection:

Gingivitis

Gingivitis, or inflammation of your gums, is the first stage of gum disease, and it specifically affects the soft tissues of your gums. One of the warning signs of this condition is the bleeding of your gums when you brush or floss your teeth. Other symptoms you could experience during this stage include the following:

  • Bad breath
  • Swollen gums
  • Increased spaces between your teeth
  • Gum sensitivity
  • Tender gums
  • Gum texture changes

While naturally, your mouth has bacteria, they become an issue to worry about when a dental or oral health condition like gum disease allows them to multiply. Fortunately, you can reverse gingivitis through proper oral health habits, like teeth brushing and regular deep teeth cleanings.

Mild Periodontitis

When gingivitis is left untreated, it progresses to early or mild periodontitis, which means the infectious bacteria has reached underneath your gums and supporting bone structure. Common symptoms of mild periodontitis include the following:

  • Tooth sensitivity
  • Bleeding gums
  • Red or swollen gums
  • Persistent halitosis (bad breath)
  • Formation of small pockets or spaces between your gums and teeth (periodontal pockets)
  • Gum recession

Moderate Periodontitis

When the excretions from the plaque begin to erode your gums and the bone structures that hold your teeth in place, you have moderate periodontitis. At this stage, the affected tooth could become loose due to the wearing away of the supporting bone structures.

The recession of your gums will also become more severe, creating more visible periodontal pockets. That means more adequate space for the bacteria to thrive and multiply. Common symptoms of moderate periodontitis include pain, bad breath, and pus around your gum line.

To treat and reverse moderate periodontitis, your dentist will recommend a combination of antibiotics and a procedure known as scaling and root planing. You will learn more about this procedure in the next paragraph.

Advanced Periodontitis

When the bacteria causing the gum disease is left unchecked, it will continue eating away your gums and bone structures supporting the tooth, leading to advanced periodontitis. Advanced periodontitis is the last stage of gum disease, characterized by tooth mobility and severe bone loss.

The gum disease could be irreversible at this stage, necessitating extensive dental restoration procedures, like surgery or tooth extraction. Generally, here are the symptoms of advanced periodontitis:

  • Bleeding or swollen gums
  • Tooth loss
  • Severe pain
  • Severe gum recession
  • Bleeding and swollen gums
  • Painful abscesses and pus discharge
  • Pain when chewing
  • Unpleasant taste in your mouth
  • Bad breath

Seeking the immediate services of a dentist is advisable if you have experienced any of the above symptoms of advanced periodontitis. Without regular dental appointments, some of the above symptoms of gingivitis could go unnoticed until the condition becomes moderate periodontitis. Hence, regular dental appointments with your dentist are vital.

Aside from helping you stay on top of your oral and dental health, these routine dental exams allow your dentist to detect signs of gum disease or any other oral and dental health issue before it becomes severe.

How Your Dentist Will Diagnose Gum Disease

Your dentist must perform a diagnosis to ascertain whether you have gum disease and the best course of action for your condition. Generally, gum disease diagnosis involves the following:

  • Assessment of your general medical record to know the possible cause of your unique symptoms, smoking, and medication
  • Complete examination of your mouth and teeth to determine whether you have plaque buildup
  • Measurements of your periodontal pockets using a probe. The periodontal pocket depth should not exceed 3 millimeters if you have healthy gums. The deeper the periodontal pockets are, the more severe your periodontitis
  • Examination of your teeth to determine whether they are sensitive around the gumline
  • Use of imaging diagnostic techniques like X-ray and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans to see the specific areas of bone loss
  • Check to see if you have any loose teeth or swollen, tender, red, or bleeding gums

Depending on the severity of your unique problem, your dentist could refer you to a periodontist for specialized diagnosis and treatment. However, the above tests are critical in determining the appropriate treatment for your unique gum disease.

Management and Treatment of Gum Disease

Gum disease is untreatable, but it is manageable with proper treatment. You cannot treat gum disease because once you lose the bone structures that anchor your teeth in place, you cannot have it all back. However, your dentist could recommend various periodontal treatments to lessen the infection and rebuild the affected tissues and bone structures.

Another reason why gum disease is incurable is genetics. Generally speaking, some people are more prone to gum disease than others because they have the type of oral bacteria that causes the infection. However, as mentioned above, gingivitis, the first stage of this infection, is completely reversible through regular oral care when detected early.

Nonetheless, your dentist could recommend various treatments to help your gums reattach to your tooth for the appealing smile that you deserve. The specific treatment your dentist or periodontist will recommend will depend on the following factors:

  • Whether you smoke or chew tobacco-related products
  • Your medical treatment history
  • Your health

Depending on the above factors, your dentist or periodontist could suggest non-surgical treatments that help control bacteria and surgical treatments that help fix the soft tissues that anchor your teeth in place. Below is an overview of these two gum disease treatment options:

Non-Surgical Treatments

For non-severe cases of gum disease, your dentist will recommend the following non-surgical treatments:

  1. Deep Teeth Cleaning and Improved Oral Health Practices

When your dentist detects early signs of gum disease during your routine dental appointments, he/she can perform deep teeth cleaning to reverse the problem. Dental cleaning involves the removal of plaque and tartar buildup on the surface of your teeth.

Since bone loss has not yet occurred, this procedure can help eliminate the harmful bacteria accumulation on the surface of your teeth, preventing the progression of the infection. In other words, dental cleaning acts as a preventative remedy that halts the progression of the infection.

On the other hand, to keep your teeth looking sparkling clean and keep harmful bacteria at bay, your dentist will recommend improved oral health practices. If you used to brush and floss your teeth once daily, your dentist will recommend doing so at least twice daily. Rinsing your mouth with antibacterial mouthwash could also keep bacteria at bay.

  1. Scaling and Root Planing

While this procedure is similar to the above-explained procedure, during scaling and root planing, also known as deep cleaning, your dentist will scrape off (scaling) tartar buildup from the surface of your tooth and smoothen (planing) its rough surfaces. Smoothening of the affected tooth helps prevent bacteria from reattaching and facilitates the reattachment of your gums to the tooth.

Scaling and root planing is an ideal treatment for moderate periodontitis where the affected tooth has plaque below the gumline. To prevent or minimize discomfort during this procedure, your dentist will use local anesthesia to numb the skin around the affected section of your teeth and gums.

Surgical Treatments

Surgical treatment is the final remedy for severe gum disease (advanced periodontitis). As mentioned in the previous paragraph, surgical treatments for gum disease aim to help the gum reattach to your tooth and strengthen the weakened bone. Below are examples of surgical treatments your dentist could recommend if you have severe periodontitis:

  1. Flap Surgery

People with moderate to advanced periodontitis would be an excellent candidate for flap surgery. Also known as pocket reduction surgery, flap surgery involves the removal of tartar on and below your gum line and lifting your gums to their ideal position in your mouth.

The primary purpose of this procedure is to lessen the periodontal pockets that house the harmful bacteria.

  1. Soft Tissue Graft

Also known as gum grafting, soft tissue grafting helps reinforce the affected gums and fill in spaces where they have eroded due to the acidic secretions released by the bacteria. In addition to covering the exposed tooth roots, this surgical procedure helps add thickness to the affected gums for an appealing smile.

The soft tissue your dentist will use during this procedure could be purchased from the tissue bank or a compatible donor or removed from the compatible part of your mouth, especially the roof area.

  1. Bone Grafts

If gum disease has caused erosion of your bone structures that anchor the teeth in place, bone grafting could be necessary to restore the integrity of the bone. The bone your dentist will use for grafting could be from a compatible donor or any other area of your body. The bone graft acts as a space holder or scaffolding to allow your body to regenerate a new healthy bone over time.

  1. Guided Tissue Regeneration

Also abbreviated as GTR, guided tissue regeneration is an ideal treatment for severe gum disease, where the bone that supports your teeth is eroded and damaged. In most cases, your dentist or periodontist will combine this procedure with bone grafts to fix periodontal defects caused by gum disease.

  1. Bone Surgery

If you have advanced periodontitis, which has caused severe bone loss and the formation of shallow “craters” on your bone, your dentist could recommend bone surgery to smoothen these craters. Usually, your dentist will combine this procedure with flap surgery to make it challenging for bacteria to adhere to the surface of your tooth.

  1. Laser-Assisted New Attachment Procedure (LANAP)

Some dentists could recommend LANAP to help reduce periodontal pockets if you have mild or moderate periodontitis. During this procedure, your dentist will use a handheld laser to treat the infected parts of your gums and leave the uninfected or healthy parts intact. If you do not have the fee for flap surgery, LANAP would be an excellent treatment alternative to help manage your gum disease.

  1. Platelet-rich Plasma (PRP) and Platelet-rich Fibrin (PRF)

PRP and PRF contain crucial growth factors that can help speed up tissue regeneration and healing after a surgical procedure. Your periodontist can extract PRP and PRF from your blood samples, and then he/she will use a special lab machine to separate plasma from your several red blood cells. After that, the dentist will place the fibrin or plasma on your surgical site on the gums to accelerate the healing process.

It is important to note that your dentist could recommend antibiotic medication to help keep the periodontitis-causing bacteria at bay after the above non-surgical and surgical treatments for gum disease. Chlorhexidine is one example of the antibiotic medication your dentist will recommend to help regulate the plaque on the surface of your tooth and reverse the gingivitis.

Fortunately, this drug is also available as a mouthwash, meaning you can use it to rinse your mouth after brushing your teeth.

Find a Los Angeles Periodontist Near Me

Since gum disease is asymptomatic during its early stages, understanding the possible symptoms of the condition is important for early treatment before it becomes worse and costly to treat. If you have gum disease, our credible and reputable dentists at Los Angeles Advanced Dentistry can offer the necessary oral health services.

Call us at 310-361-2080 and let our reliable dentists help you achieve the optimal oral and dental health you deserve.