According to the Canadian Dental Association, 7 out of every 10 Canadians will develop gum disease during their lives. Nevertheless, you can take action to reduce your risk of gum disease.

Today, we will discuss some of the things you can do to help prevent gum disease as well as some things that can be done to treat it.One option for treatment isnon-surgical gum therapyat Lakewood Dental Centre in Winnipeg.

If you have more questions or you want to make an appointment, you can contact us online or by calling 204-977-8515.

Preventing Gum Disease

The best approach to most illnesses is prevention. Gum disease, or periodontal disease, is no different. More than likely, you already know the things that you should be doing to prevent this kind of infection, but it never hurts to review the basics.

Every day, you should do two things as part of your daily oral hygiene routine — brushing your teeth and flossing between your teeth and gums.

You should brush your teeth twice daily. When you do it’s important to scrub every tooth on all sides, and you should pay particular attention to the areas where your teeth and gums meet. You also can use the tip of your brush to clean behind your upper and lower front teeth.

You should floss at least once per day. Flossing helps to remove plaque and food particles from between your teeth and gums.

When you are flossing, you will want a piece of floss that is about 18 inches long. To start, you can wrap the ends of the floss around your middle fingers. As you floss, you should wrap the dental floss around each tooth in a C-shape. Wipe the floss from the base of the tooth to the tip a couple times.

You will want to use a clean piece of floss on each tooth. You can do this by wrapping and unwrapping the floss as you move between teeth.

Plaque is a sticky film that can form daily. If it isn’t removed, it can harden to become calculus, a.k.a. tartar. Bacterial infection is more likely at the point where attaches to your gums. This can lead to gingivitis, which is an early form of gum disease.

As part of your preventive care, you also should visit your dentist a couple times each year for professional dental cleanings and exams. This will allow a dental professional to remove plaque and tartar that you may have missed. It also will give him or her a chance to check for signs of gum disease. Early detection can help your treatment be more effective.

If you have questions about gum disease, our staff at Lakewood Dental Centre will be happy to give you answers. Call us at 204-977-8515.

Non-Surgical Gum Therapy

Gum disease can affect anyone at any age, which is why we encourage everyone in your family to practice good oral hygiene.

Nevertheless, we want you to be aware of what to watch for in case you should develop gingivitis. The symptoms of this form of gum disease include gums that look red or puffy. You also may notice bleeding when you brush or floss.

If the infection spreads, you may have pockets form in your gum tissue. Without treatment, the infection could lead to tooth loss as more of your gum tissue is damaged.

Your dentist wants you to keep as many of your teeth as you can for as long as possible. This is part of the reason we encourage you to visit the dentist a couple times a year for cleanings and examinations.

If you should have gum disease, your dentist may recommend non-surgical gum therapy. This may include curettage and root planing. Curettage is the removal of infected gum tissue. Root planing involves removing tartar and smoothing the surface of the roots of your teeth.

Many times, this is enough to remove the infection from your mouth. After these procedures, a dental professional will instruct you on what you should do to take care of your gums.

In more serious cases, however, non-surgical gum therapy may not be enough. If needed, you may be referred to a periodontist. That is a dentist who has special training in the treatment of gum disease.

While we hope you never have gum disease, we also want you to know that the dentists at our Winnipeg office will do everything we can do treat it.

Keep Your Gums Healthy

Remember that preventive care is the best approach to dealing with periodontal disease. Brush and floss every day, and visit the dentist for regular cleanings and examinations.

To make an appointment at Lakewood Dental Centre, call 204-977-8515 or fill out our online form.