February isn’t just the month when we celebrate all things love; it’s also Gum Disease Awareness Month. Why not show your gums some love? Because your gum health is vital for a healthy smile (and body). Gum disease is linked to Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, coronary artery disease, diabetes, liver cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
Our goal this month is to promote good gum health and help you feel more motivated to take the best care possible of your gums. Did you know that harmful oral bacteria and germs can attack the supportive bone, leading to tooth loss? Your gums provide a barrier preventing harmful elements from getting through and attacking your teeth. Without healthy gums, you can actually lose your pearly whites!
Gum Disease Progression
Stage One: Gum Disease
Gum disease, when it invades your mouth, starts with a milder form (gingivitis), which crops up when bad bacteria make their way under the gums, leading to irritation. At this stage, you’ll often notice bleeding, irritated and swollen gums. Timely intervention can often reverse gum disease by taking good daily care of your treated gums as recommended by our dentist. If you ignore your gums at this early stage, they will continue to deteriorate.
Stage Two: Early Periodontitis
The beginnings of bone loss anchoring your teeth start to happen, even though you might not notice serious symptoms. The good news is this gum deterioration can be detected during your regular dental checkups, which is one of the main reasons why these visits are so important to keeping healthy teeth and gums.
Stage Three: Moderate Periodontitis
If periodontitis is left untreated, essential jaw bone and gum tissue are continually whittled away until you feel that your teeth are beginning to feel loose. Dental intervention needs to happen to manage the disease.
Stage Four: Advanced Periodontitis
This is the most severe stage of gum disease. You may notice your teeth feeling even looser, interfering with proper biting and chewing and making eating painful. Not only have the bad bacteria lingering below the gums spread into the soft tissues and jawbone material, but now they have traveled throughout your body via the bloodstream. It wears down your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to the illnesses we mentioned above.
Proactive Gum Care
Now that you are aware of the problems caused by gum disease, show your smile some love to ensure your smile looks, feels, and functions as healthy as possible!
- Brush your pearly whites at least twice a day for two minutes each session. Go the extra mile if you can by investing in an electric toothbrush that does a thorough job of removing dental plaque. Use soft bristles that are gentle on your gum tissue and around the gumline, and brush small circles on the front, back and crevices.
- Floss between teeth to get rid of food particles and bacteria between teeth under the gum line to prevent plaque and tartar buildup. It’s vital that you swipe the floss up and around the gum line of every tooth to catch any oral debris left behind after brushing.
- Schedule routine dental visits. Along with consistent daily oral hygiene maintenance, routine dental cleanings and exams are your main defense against gum disease. Deep cleanings maintain tooth and gum health and spot developing problems early.
This Gum Disease Awareness Month, why not show your smile the love it deserves for healthy teeth and gums? Now is a good time to schedule your next dental cleaning and exam. Our dedicated dental team loves helping patients get healthy, beautiful smiles!
Februari si mwezi tu ambapo sisi kusherehekea mambo yote upendo; ni pia Gum Disease Awareness Month. Kwa nini usionyeshe meno yako upendo fulani? Kwa nini afya ya taya ni muhimu kwa tabasamu na mwili wako? Ugonjwa wa taya unahusishwa na ugonjwa wa Alzheimer, ugonjwa wa moyo, nimonia, ugonjwa wa mishipa ya damu, kisukari, kansa ya ini na ugonjwa wa arthritis ya rheumatoid. Lengo letu la mwezi huu ni kukuza afya nzuri ya nywele na kukusaidia kuhisi kuhamasishwa zaidi kuchukua huduma bora iwezekanavyo ya nywele zako. Je, unajua kwamba bakteria na vijidudu vyenye madhara katika mdomo vinaweza kushambulia mfupa unaounga mkono, na kusababisha meno kupotea? Matumbo yako ni kizuizi cha kuzuia vitu vyenye madhara visiingie na kushambulia meno yako. Bila meno yenye afya, unaweza kupoteza rangi yako nyeupe kama lulu! Ugonjwa wa Nyusi (Gum Disease) huanza kwa aina ya upole (gingivitis) ambayo huibuka wakati bakteria mbaya zinapopanda chini ya nyusi na kusababisha kuchochea. Katika hatua hii, mara nyingi utaona damu, kuchochea na kuvimba kwa taya. Uingiliaji wa wakati unaofaa mara nyingi unaweza kugeuza ugonjwa wa nywele kwa kutunza vizuri kila siku nywele zako zilizotibiwa kama ilivyoelezwa na daktari wetu wa meno. Ikiwa hutazama nywele zako katika hatua hii ya mapema, zitaendelea kuharibika. Hatua ya pili: Periodontitis ya mapema: Kuanza kwa kupoteza mifupa inayounganisha meno yako huanza kutokea, hata ingawa huenda usionekane na dalili mbaya. Habari njema ni kwamba ugonjwa huu unaweza kuonekana wakati wa uchunguzi wa kawaida wa meno, na hii ni moja ya sababu kuu kwa nini ziara hizi ni muhimu sana kwa kuweka meno na meno yenye afya. Katika hatua ya tatu, ugonjwa wa periodontitis unaendelea kwa muda mrefu, na ikiwa ugonjwa huo haujatibiwa, mifupa ya taya na tishu za taya huondolewa hadi meno yako yanapoanza kuvuja. Uingiliaji wa meno unahitaji kutokea ili kudhibiti ugonjwa huo. Hatua ya nne: Periodontitis ya hali ya juu Hii ndiyo hatua kali zaidi ya ugonjwa wa taya. Unaweza kuona meno yako yakijisikia kuwa laini zaidi, yakizuia kuumwa na kutafuna vizuri na kufanya kula kuwe na maumivu. Bakteria mbaya zilizokuwa chini ya meno yako zimeenea kwenye tishu laini na mifupa ya taya, na sasa zimetembea katika mwili wako kupitia damu. Inafanya mfumo wako wa kinga uharibike, na hivyo kukufanya uwe rahisi kuambukizwa magonjwa tuliyotaja hapo juu. Kwa kuwa unajua matatizo yanayosababishwa na ugonjwa wa nywele, onyesha upendo kwa tabasamu yako ili kuhakikisha tabasamu yako inaonekana, inahisi, na inafanya kazi vizuri iwezekanavyo! - Fua meno yako meupe angalau mara mbili kwa siku kwa dakika mbili kila kikao. Kwa hiyo, unapaswa kufanya kila uwezavyo kununua brashi ya meno ya umeme ambayo huondoa kabisa mchanga. Tumia bristles laini ambayo ni laini juu ya tishu ya gum na karibu na gumline, na brush duru ndogo mbele, nyuma na crevices. - Floss kati ya meno ili kuondoa chembe za chakula na bakteria kati ya meno chini ya mstari wa gum ili kuzuia plaque na tartar kujenga. Ni muhimu kwamba wewe swipe floss juu na kuzunguka gum line ya kila jino kukamata taka yoyote ya mdomo kushoto nyuma baada ya brushing. - Panga ziara za kawaida za daktari wa meno. Pamoja na kudumisha usafi wa mdomo kila siku, kusafisha meno na uchunguzi wa kawaida ni ulinzi wako kuu dhidi ya ugonjwa wa taya. Kusafisha meno kwa undani huhifadhi afya ya meno na ya taya na kugundua matatizo yanayotokea mapema. Mwezi huu wa Ujuzi wa Magonjwa ya Nywele, kwa nini usionyeshe tabasamu yako upendo unaostahili kwa meno na nywele zenye afya? Sasa ni wakati mzuri wa kupanga siku yako ya pili ya kusafisha meno na uchunguzi. Timu yetu ya meno iliyojitolea hupenda kuwasaidia wagonjwa kupata tabasamu zenye afya na nzuri!