Hi, my name is Dr. Vik Mittle. I am a Board Certified Periodontist at Shine Dental Associates, located in Syosset.
There are several signs showing the fact that you have gum disease or periodontal disease. Some of the most common signs that people always talk about, what you see in the newspapers or TV commercials are bleeding gums. That’s a very important sign because, in fact, that means that your gums are inflamed. You have a lot of bacteria and a lot of plague that’s underneath your gums which causes your body to respond.
Identifying and Treating Periodontal Disease
Your body is doing the right thing. That causes a response and that’s why your gums are inflamed. That’s why they bleed. That’s why they bleed when you brush your teeth, sometimes when you even floss your teeth. That’s a very important sign because of the fact that your gums are inflamed.
So you should definitely come in for us to evaluate the gums. We take measurements. We take x-rays. We look at the tissues. I want to make sure that everything is either healthy or unhealthy and then diagnosis it and make sure whether you just have either gingivitis or you have periodontitis.
They are two different things. Gingivitis is more with the soft tissue where you have bleeding gums. That’s a signed that your gums are inflamed and what you need is really a cleaning or you may need a deep cleaning. Sometimes we put some antibiotics in the gum tissue and really try to get that gum tissue back into health.
Sometimes you may have an advanced form of gingivitis where you have periodontal disease and that’s bone loss around your teeth. That’s a serious sign because of the fact that you probably will lose your teeth over your lifetime. Why? Because bone is what anchors your teeth into place. So when you have periodontal disease or bone loss, you start losing the support of your teeth. They become loose and they fall out. Why? Because of plague. Plague has bacteria and, again, bacteria causes an immune response. It’s your own body, along with the bacteria, that is causing this problem.
If you have any questions regarding gingivitis or periodontal disease, please call us at the number below. We’ll be happy to answer all your questions.
