While periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, can be detrimental to your oral health, it doesn’t have to be. At Sunridge Landing Dental, our dentist in NE Calgary has effective methods to prevent and treat gum disease, especially when diagnosed in its earliest stages. With effective treatment, bleeding, inflamed, and tender gums can return to their healthy shade of pink. However, even if our dentist near you can stop the infection, you are not completely in the clear. If you have had at least one instance of gum disease, you are at higher risk of another infection. It is important that you maintain ongoing oral health practices to avoid another infection.
Here are three things that you should do to ensure your gums stay in perfect health:
#1 Practice Daily Oral Hygiene Routines
According to periodontics in NE Calgary, gum disease most often occurs due to dental plaque, a thin film of disease-causing bacteria that builds up on the surfaces of teeth and along the gum line. It is vital for you to remove this buildup and keep it to a minimum by practicing daily brushing and flossing, and even more so if you’ve already dealt with gum disease. You should brush in small, circular motions for at least two minutes twice a day and floss thoroughly in the evenings, ensuring you get each tooth. Practicing effective oral hygiene each day will reduce the presence of harmful bacteria in your mouth, lowering your chances of gum disease.
#2 Visit the Dentist More Often
The rule of thumb is that you should visit the dentist for routine professional dental cleanings and checkups at least once every six months. But specialists in periodontics near you suggest that you may need to visit a dental clinic for cleanings and checkups more frequently if you have had gum disease in the past. Depending on the severity of your periodontal disease, we may recommend that you visit our team at Sunridge Landing Dental every two to three months. These visits will include more in-depth screenings to ensure that another infection has not shown up, as well as comprehensive cleanings to ensure that the hard-to-reach areas of the mouth remain plaque and debris-free.
#3 Manage Other Health Issues
The severity of gum disease is often influenced by the inflammatory response that your body initiates to fight infection, which can then become chronic. This is similar to other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes. There is evidence that inflammation in other places of the body can worsen gum disease and vice-versa. Ensuring that you are properly managing other health conditions through adequate medical care, medications, and lifestyle choices can minimize your chances of developing a future gum infection and can directly impact the severity of the gum infection you may face.
Visit Sunridge Landing Dental
If you are worried that you may be experiencing gum disease or have recently had gum disease and would like more tips about keeping it from returning, visit our team of dedicated dental professionals at Sunridge Landing Dental. We are happy to help you learn the best techniques to keep gum disease at bay and provide you with effective, high-quality periodontal treatment as needed. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team and book a consultation today!