Gum Health – Boynton Beach Dentist

Don’t let gum disease jeopardize your health, your smile, or your social life!

Whoopi Goldberg Speaks on Gum Disease
This just in!!! Gum disease can kill you? Maybe, but probably not.

Whoopi Goldberg talks about how gum disease has dramatically affected her own life and health on “The View”:

Your gums and supporting bone are the foundation of your smile.

Many people think that decay is the reason for tooth loss. Not so. It’s actually gum disease that causes you to lose your teeth. Gum disease affects 80% of the adults in the U.S. If this were any other disease it would be considered an epidemic! Most dentist believe that is exactly what it is.

The good news is that the disease can be successfully treated. This becomes more important each day because of recent studies linking gum disease to heart disease and other maladies. So it’s not just about losing your teeth. It’s about your overall health. Ask our gum disease treatment dentist, Dr. Barr about treatment options for gum disease.

There are signs and symptoms you may be aware of including:

  • Bleeding gums – Do your gums bleed when you brush or floss? Do you see blood when you rinse after brushing?
  • Pus oozing from your gums? Yes… Pus. Look closely.
  • Puffy, swollen, or red gums?
  • Bad breath?
  • Metallic or bad taste?
  • Loose teeth?

This insidious disease can wreak havoc on your social and professional life. It can cause receding gums and eventually tooth loss. We decided not to gross you out with photos on this topic!

Floss or DIE???

Sounds a bit silly or far-fetched, doesn’t it? However, recent medical research is revealing some startling news about gum disease. It appears that heart attacks, strokes, premature birth, and even cancer may be more related to chronic inflammation in the body than the usual suspects. The most common source of chronic inflammation in the human body is, you guessed it: Gum Disease! Does this mean that gum disease causes these medical issues? So far, the answer is no. Even if there is a “correlation,” it doesn’t mean there is “causation.”

The newly suspected relationship between gum disease and heart disease and strokes is still being studied, but we expect to hear more and more about it.

Other studies have linked gum disease with low birth weight babies.

Even more recently cancer (pancreatic, specifically) has been linked to the chronic inflammation from periodontal disease.

Again, we cannot yet say that gum disease causes any of these “systemic” medical problems. Of course, more study is needed, but I believe we’ll be hearing more about these relationships in years to come.

An infection anywhere in your body is not a good thing and needs to be treated. The mouth is no different.

Here is a more recent news story about the relationship between Gum Disease and heart disease (and diabetes):

Periodontal (Gum) Treatment

The easiest thing to do is to PREVENT gum disease with good home care and regular preventive professional care. However, when gum disease is present, the sooner it’s treated, the better.

Non-surgical gum treatment is offered at Palm Beach Smiles in Boynton Beach. Oftentimes a thorough cleaning of the roots of your teeth (while you’re completely numb) will yield remarkable improvements. After initial treatment, more frequent cleanings may be recommended: every 3 – 4 months rather than every 6 months.

For the most advanced cases, referral to a Periodontist (gum specialist) may be indicated.

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Call us at (561) 736-2377 with questions or to set up an appointment.