{"id":849,"date":"2017-06-16T13:25:14","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T20:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/?p=849"},"modified":"2017-07-10T22:47:30","modified_gmt":"2017-07-11T05:47:30","slug":"gum-disease-prevention-and-treatment-from-your-general-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/gum-disease-prevention-and-treatment-from-your-general-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"Gum Disease Prevention and Treatment From Your General Dentist"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_852\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/waterflosser.png\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-852\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-852 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/waterflosser.png\" alt=\"Santa Cruz General Dentist\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/waterflosser.png 500w, https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/waterflosser-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-852\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: detry26 | Adobe Stock<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gingivitis\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Gingivitis<\/em>, also called gum disease<\/a>, is suffered by millions of people all over the United States. This early form of gum disease can be relatively mild \u2013 but it represents harmful bacteria beginning to colonize the gums through hard, sticky deposits of plaque on the teeth.<\/p>\n<p>People can go months or even years with this stealthy disease without even noticing it. The longer there are undisturbed pockets of plaque on the teeth, the more likely it is bacteria will successfully attack and begin to colonize the soft tissue that holds the teeth in place.<\/p>\n<p>The signs include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mild redness in the gums \u2013 sometimes noticeable only on one \u201cset\u201d of gums;<\/li>\n<li>Occasional bleeding of the gums, typically at the same time you brush or floss your teeth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How does gingivitis creep up on people?<\/p>\n<p>Simply, it can be hard to tell if symptoms are directly related to gum disease. Bleeding of the gums can be caused accidentally by brushing too hard with a rough, older toothbrush even if your gums are healthy. The same can be true of mild, temporary gum irritation.<\/p>\n<p>If you notice these symptoms for more than a day or two, it\u2019s time to see a dentist!<\/p>\n<p>Over time, gingivitis develops into <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/faqs\/\" target=\"_blank\">periodontal disease<\/a><\/em> \u2013 the form of the disease a general dentist usually means when talking about \u201cgum disease.\u201d During the advanced stage, the gums are eroded by the infection. If it goes untreated, it can permanently destroy bone. This leads to the loss of many teeth, and could result in a life-threatening systemic infection.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your General Dentist Advises You on Gum Disease Prevention<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Although many people do have gingivitis, it\u2019s possible to halt the progress of the disease and even stop it for good through regular dental care. Some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/is-it-time-for-a-cleaning-and-check-up-with-your-dentist-in-santa-cruz\/\" target=\"_blank\">steps you should take to protect your gums<\/a> include:<\/p>\n<p><em>Brush Regularly<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You should brush your teeth each morning, at night, and within about 30 minutes of every meal. Brushing disrupts the formation of biofilm, which ultimately hardens into plaque. Without plaque, gingivitis cannot spread and damage gums.<\/p>\n<p><em>Floss as Much as You Can<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Flossing is tough for many people. However, even doing it once in a while is better than not at all. If you\u2019re not flossing yet, start by doing it once a week. Using a hand-held \u201cfloss wand\u201d or a water flosser can make the process faster, easier, and more effective.<\/p>\n<p><em>Massage the Gums<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Your gums provide a constant supply of blood to your teeth. Even if you don\u2019t have time to sit down and brush, spending two minutes gently massaging the gums with a soft, manual brush can help keep gums strong and resistant to infection.<\/p>\n<p><em>Maintain the Mouth\u2019s pH Balance<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Your mouth naturally fights off infection through its production of saliva. If you suffer from dry mouth, be sure to see a general dentist as soon as you can to get to the root of the problem. Sugar-free gum can help promote saliva production.<\/p>\n<p>For help from a trusted general dentist, contact <a href=\"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Landmark Dental Group.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/contact\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-384\" src=\"http:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Landmark-Dental-Group-Santa-Cruz.png\" alt=\"Landmark Dental Group Contact | Santa Cruz\" width=\"428\" height=\"49\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Landmark-Dental-Group-Santa-Cruz.png 428w, https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Landmark-Dental-Group-Santa-Cruz-300x34.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 428px) 100vw, 428px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gingivitis, also called gum disease, is suffered by millions of people all over the United States. This early form of gum disease can be relatively mild \u2013 but it represents harmful bacteria beginning to colonize the gums through hard, sticky deposits of plaque on the teeth. People can go months or even years with this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[37,39],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":863,"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions\/863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landmark-dental-group.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}