Duluth Dentists Duluth Dentist Plaque Attacks Gums
How Does Plaque Attack the Gums?
First of all, you need to understand the dangers of having plaque in your teeth. Plaque has no distinct color and can even blend in with your teeth and stick to it like soft glue. It comes from the food you eat, especially sugar and bacteria. Believe it or not, you have bacteria in your mouth. Its not something you can prevent because we always open our mouths to eat, laugh, bite our nails, chew on something, smile, and talk. In any of those instances, bacteria can enter.
You can remove plaque through regular brushing and flossing. Unfortunately, if you do not brush the right way, the plaque remains. When this happens, it hardens and turns into tartar. Another word dentists like to use instead of tartar is calculus. Unlike plaque, you cannot remove tartar with brushing or flossing. Its almost like hardened cement. You will need a dentist to probe, gently nudge it with a special tool, or even drill the tartar out.
Before plaque turns into calculus, it can already start causing dental problems by attacking the tooth. What happens is that as we continue to introduce new bacteria into our mouths, the plaque will use this and combined with our saliva, produce acid. It is the acid from the plaque that can cause the cavities or gum disease. If left unattended, the plaque is able to destroy your tooth enamel which is the outer layer of your tooth. As for the gums, the acid from the plaque will cause bleeding.
Gum bleeding is one of the signs of a pending serious dental problem called gingivitis. The other signs are swollen gums, or reddish gums. It is possible to treat gingivitis but you will need to see your dentist for this procedure. Plaque can cause gingivitis by eroding the area around the tooth along the gum line. It will deposit bacteria and acid between the gums and the teeth, and this will cause the enamel and bone to erode.
You can also prevent gingivitis with the right dental right. This would include the right diet, brushing and flossing at least twice a day, and getting a professional cleaning procedure known as prophylaxis from your dentist. Ideally, you should go in for a cleaning twice a year, but you can have it done more often or at least once a year.
The problem of plaque and calculus is not just the risk of loosing your teeth, but also other health issues, some of which are much more serious than a gap in your smile. For instance, if you have gingivitis, it could affect your blood flow. For someone with hypertension or high blood pressure, this is very risky.
Thu, when you go in to see your dentist, be sure to inform him of any existing medical condition. If he sees the presence of tartar, he will recommend a procedure known as scaling or root planing. This is not considered a major procedure and can be done as part of your regular dental maintenance and preventive measures.
by: Will Johnson
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