Your gums age, too! Importance of Good Oral Health

Forgot that your gums age, too...

I went to the dentist today and came home determined, absolutely determined to take care of my teeth and gums.

My dentist told me that if I don’t change the way I brush my teeth, I may soon face serious consequences with my gums. So I sat there with my little red tooth brush that he handed to me, like a trained dog being watched, to practice in front of him. As instructed, I tilted the bristles at 45 degree angle against the gums, focused on brushing in very small horizontal movements, imagining hard that your hand suddenly turned into Sonicare. As his piercing eyes followed every movement of my red tooth brush, I realized I was sweating from nervousness...

I thought I was following a pretty strict oral care regimen until today. Look at these so-called periodontal-preventative products lined up on my sink! Apparently, the most powerful of all is this minty green liquid called “ConCool.” My dentist tells me that its germ-killing power is no rival to any of the oral hygiene products out in the market.

Periodontal (gum) diseases, including gingivitis and periodontitis, are serious infections that, left untreated, can actually lead to tooth loss. Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth. And this type of inflammation gets worse as you age (because of your immune system getting weaker) so better act now before it is too late!!

Periodontal disease begins when the bacteria in plaque causes the gums to become inflamed. If you don’t fight that plaque, which you may not take too seriously, it will spread under your gum line without you knowing. The toxins from this hardly visible “plaque” will cause chronic inflammation which will slowly but surely destroy the tissue and bones that support your teeth. The tricky thing is, it is not painful, so this can continue unnoticed. By the time your gums start to bleed, you are in trouble. If you leave that untreated, soon your gums will start to thin out, creating pockets between your teeth and gums. The pocket deepens and the next thing you realize, your teeth are loose… you have no teeth…

Cigarette smokers are susceptible to periodontal disease so be careful! Also, women going through menopause should be aware that hormonal fluctuations can seriously affect your gums. Surprisingly, according to research, more than 30% of the people are genetically susceptible to gum disease. Despite aggressive oral care habits, these people may be six times more likely to develop periodontal disease. So they have to go through preventative treatment at an early stage to keep their teeth intact. Furthermore, stress can be a big risk factor that can cause periodontal disease. When you’re under stress, your body cannot fight off the germs and infections. According to my scary but concerned dentist, Dr. Toguchi, most people have some kind of gum infection so you don’t need to panic. But the scary thing is, once your gums recede, you cannot reproduce them again. They will not heal like the rest of your body heals after a cut. The best you can do is to maintain what you have.

So you see, the key is to make your body healthy and strong to fight off the infection inside your mouth while making an extra effort to remove that annoying plaque!