How To Treat Your Gum Disease: What You Need To Know
Posted on: 24 November 2014
Gum disease is a painful and uncomfortable condition. Once your dentist or periodontist, like Dr. Corinne R. Scalzitti, diagnoses your gum disease, you may be relieved to finally know what was causing all of your mouth pain and inflammation. However, you may also wonder what to do now. Luckily, there are several treatment options available to you for your gum disease. Conventional and alternative treatments can be used in conjunction to optimize and speed up results so you can get your healthy mouth back. All you need to do is learn your options and get started in your recovery.
Thorough Cleaning
The first treatment your dentist will recommend to you to treat your periodontal (gum) disease is a thorough cleaning known as scaling. Not only will your dentist clean and remove the plaque and buildup from the surfaces of your teeth and gums, they will also clean underneath the gums.
This is accomplished by pulling back the tissue of your gums, giving your dentist access to the periodontal pockets underneath your gums. These periodontal pockets become havens for bacteria and plaque when you are suffering from gum disease. Removing these infection-causing elements will jump-start your recovery.
Antibiotics and/or Natural Infection Fighters
Your dentist will likely also want to prescribe you with an antibiotic to rid your gums of their infection. While this is the standard, conventional medical treatment option for a bacterial infection, you may be averse prescription antibiotics. Or, you may also want to use natural remedies to complement your antibiotic treatments and further speed up the process.
Green or black tea is an excellent natural option to treat your gum disease. The antioxidants and tannins in the the tea have antimicrobial properties that help to rid your body of infection. These nutrients also help to reduce inflammation in your gums, relieving swelling and pain.
You can get these tea-related benefits from drinking tea or from placing warm, moist tea bags directly onto your gums. Other natural remedies include dietary changes to increase your intake of vitamin C and vitamin A, and salt water rinses to clean your mouth and relieve pain and inflammation.
Surgical Interventions
In some cases, gum disease can be so advanced, that surgery is necessary. Advanced periodontal disease can actually cause gum tissue to become so damaged that it is no longer viable.
If this tissue is left in your mouth, it can become necrotic causing further tissue death and preventing you from being able to get rid of the infection in your gums. Your periodontist or dentist will surgically remove the non-viable tissue to prevent these potential problems.
Depending on the amount of tissue that needs to be removed, you may also require further surgeries once your infection is cleared up. Skin grafts will allow your dentist to rebuild your gums, preserving the structural integrity of your mouth as well as the aesthetic appeal of your smile.
As you can see, there are several treatments available to you for your gum disease. All you need to do is figure out which options are best for you and get down to the business of recovery.
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