Goodlettsville Dental Services

Prevention of Periodontal (Gum) Disease

Daily oral hygiene measures to prevent periodontal disease include:

• Brushing properly on a regular basis (at least twice daily), with the patient attempting to direct the toothbrush bristles underneath the gum-line, to help disrupt the bacterial-mycotic growth and formation of subgingival plaque.
• Flossing daily and using interdental brushes (if there is a sufficiently large space between teeth), as well as cleaning behind the last tooth, the third molar, in each quarter.
• Using an antiseptic mouthwash. Chlorhexidine gluconate based mouthwash in combination with careful oral hygiene may cure gingivitis, although they cannot reverse any attachment loss due to periodontitis.
• Using a ‘soft’ tooth brush to prevent damage to tooth enamel and sensitive gums.
• Using periodontal trays to maintain dentist-prescribed medications at the source of the disease. The use of trays allows the medication to stay in place long enough to penetrate the biofilms where the microorganism are found.
• Regular dental check-ups and professional teeth cleaning as required. Dental check-ups serve to monitor the person’s oral hygiene methods and levels of attachment around teeth, identify any early signs of periodontitis, and monitor response to treatment.

Typically dental hygienists (or dentists) use special instruments to clean (debride) teeth below the gumline and disrupt any plaque growing below the gumline. This is a standard treatment to prevent any further progress of established periodontitis. Studies show that after such a professional cleaning (periodontal debridement), microbic plaque tend to grow back to pre-cleaning levels after about 3–4 months. Hence, in theory, cleanings every 3–4 months might be expected to also prevent the initial onset of periodontitis. However, analysis of published research has reported little evidence either to support this or the intervals at which this should occur.[11] Instead, it is advocated that the interval between dental check-ups should be determined specifically for each patient between every 3 to 24 months.

Nonetheless, the continued stabilization of a patient’s periodontal state depends largely, if not primarily, on the patient’s oral hygiene at home as well as on the go. Without daily oral hygiene, periodontal disease will not be overcome, especially if the patient has a history of extensive periodontal disease.

Periodontal disease and tooth loss are associated with an increased risk of cancer.

A contributing cause may be low selenium in the diet: “Results showed that selenium has the strongest association with gum disease, with low levels increasing the risk by 13 fold.”