Are You At Risk for Periodontal Disease?
While there are certainly risk factors for gum disease such as smoking, chewing tobacco and pregnancy, it is important to realize that gum disease can strike anyone.
Our lives as human beings are often riddled with stress which can also be a factor. I think it is important to point out what the ‘statistics’ say about this disease. Basically, most dental professionals will quote that up to 75% of people have gum disease in some form right now.
Staggering, isn’t it? If true, and I see little indication that it is not true, that means if you line up 10 people right now, the majority of them will have some form of gum disease.
I also suspect that a number of people think that because they have recently visited the dentist and the dentist did not say anything, that it means their gums are healthy. This also, may not be the case.
I know from personal experience that my dentist was not ready to spring the full details on me until it was time for a SRP (Scaling and Root Planing) procedure – often called a ‘deep cleaning’. I think it is incredibly sad that any dentist would wait that long.
I believe a periodontist I know told me that it has been studied and shown that general dentists are not always focused on the patients periodontal health. It makes sense, right? General dentists are primarily interested in finding and fixing defects with your teeth.
Yet, I would not want to let them all off the hook so easily. They know very well what gum disease looks like and they are capable of detecting it even when it is very minor.
So, what does all this mean? It simply means that you need to really make double and triple sure you are not facing gum disease RIGHT NOW.
The reason why is that gum disease can lead to gum recession, which makes your gums more vulnerable to additional attacks and recession, etc. In other words, it can become a vicious cycle.
What is the number one cause of tooth loss? Gum disease is.
Bad NEWS? Not if you take action to insure your dental health or to regain it if you have already lost some of it. The odds? The odds say you could have some form of gum disease right now. The fix? Learn all that you can now.
David Snape is the author of What You Should Know about Gum Disease
*Disclaimer – I am not a doctor or dentist. If you have or think you might have gum disease or any other health problem, visit your doctor or dentist for advice, diagnosis and treatment. This post is for information purposes only and does not intend to provide advice, diagnosis or treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about any products mentioned.
