Gum Disease

The Surgeon General states that 85% of the US population has some form of gum disease. Gum disease is an inflammatory disease that has a direct effect on other diseases in our lives. Those diseases that are affected by gum disease (otherwise known as periodontal disease) are heart attacks, strokes, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and various cancers. Research shows that if you have gum disease, you are two times more likely to have a heart attack, three times more likely to have a stroke, and if you are experiencing gum disease before the age of 35, you are four times more likely to experience dementia and Alzheimer’s in the future. Gum disease is much more important that just keeping your teeth--it is now affecting our daily lives. The research is showing that.

In order to protect our patients from developing and experiencing the symptoms of gum disease, we do what is called gum therapy. Before we complete gum therapy, we precondition the patient in order to reduce the chance of infection or problems for the individuals. We analyze, observe, follow and customize to each individual to optimize their care. Unlike other dentists, we use lasers in order to complete gum therapy, as well as utilize salivary diagnostics to determine the reason behind one's likelihood for developing gum disease, as well as finding out why it started in the first place. We also have a genetic test in order to find out if an individual is genetically prone to periodontal disease.

One in three individuals is prone to periodontal disease no matter what they do, regardless of how often they brush their teeth or floss. This is why it is so important to complete salivary and genetic testing to determine your likelihood of developing gum disease. In order to help treat it, we conduct scaling and root planning, and irrigate with an oxidizing gel in order to kill the bad bacteria that can cause periodontal disease.