You can be forgiven for thinking that tooth decay is the only mortal enemy of your teeth. In fact, generally speaking, once you have made it past childhood, your risk of tooth decay drops off. Your tooth enamel has hardened up and, as long you keep brushing and flossing, you are less likely to get decay, often because you are eating fewer sugary things.
Gum disease is another matter. It is going to be enemy number one once you hit adulthood. So, it’s really important to continue to take your oral health regime seriously throughout adulthood.
We know that it’s not just kids who can find brushing their teeth twice a day for 2 minutes a real faff. Busy adults can cut corners with their oral health routine too. The trouble is that every time you don’t brush properly to remove plaque, you give what remains in your mouth more opportunity to harden into tartar, which can only be scraped away with special tools by the dentist in Kings Hill.
Gum disease is a progressive condition caused by the acids from plaque. It starts out fairly innocuously, with red, swollen gums that bleed when you brush them. At this stage, all you need to get rid of gum disease is a good oral health routine.
If you ignore the problem, you will find that your gums develop pockets because the bone beneath them is now being corroded, plus there is still bleeding. Ignore that and the bone will start to disappear from between the roots of the teeth, which will start to wobble in their sockets. Finally, your teeth will come out altogether.
At the dentist in Kings Hill, we have various ways to deal with gum disease. We remove any deposits of plaque from the base of your teeth and under the gums, and smooth out roots that have been corroded. We can also use a laser to get rid of diseased gum tissue and interrupt the disease process.
We will be able to tell you if you have gum disease when you come to One Smile Oral Care for your bi-annual check-up.