Important Reasons Why You Need Healthy Gums

Posted on Dec 06, 2017 by William J. Claiborne, DDS MS

As responsible adults, we take certain precautions that help to keep us healthy. We use sun screen when we’re going to spend time in the sun. We wear appropriate shoes when hiking or jogging. We wear a helmet when biking or motorcycling. We assign a designated driver rather than drink and drive.

These actions help to protect us and hopefully prevent occurrences that may otherwise result in health problems. Certainly, it makes more sense to avoid problems in the first place rather than endure the time, expense and even disabling consequences of ignoring practical preventive measures.

Then, doesn’t it make sense that adults would be especially devoted to having good oral health?

The Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reports that over 47 percent of American adults have some level of gum disease. This is astounding for a country as advanced as the U.S.

I believe one of the reasons the rates of periodontal disease are so high is largely based on a population that is unaware of the ramifications of gum disease. This, in addition to a high number who are unfamiliar with its symptoms.

Let’s look at just a few reasons to be highly-committed to achieving and maintaining good oral health.

• Periodontal disease is the nation’s leading cause of adult tooth loss. I believe it reaches such a state because people are not aware of the warning signs. For example, some people believe that seeing blood in the sink when brushing is a sign they’re doing a good job at tooth brushing. (It’s not.)

• Research has found that the bacteria of gum disease is linked to systemic inflammation. This is when the body’s immune system goes out of whack and can’t turn itself off. Symptoms of chronic inflammation are chronic pain, fatigue, obesity, memory loss and insomnia.

• The bacteria of gum disease doesn’t necessarily stay confined to the mouth. Through tears in weakened gum tissues, the oral bacteria of gum disease can enter the bloodstream. As it travels throughout the body, it can contribute to serious health risks, including heart disease, stroke, some cancers, preterm babies, impotency, arthritis and diabetes.

• Good gum health is the foundation for keeping your natural teeth healthy, and for a lifetime. Research has shown that people with their natural teeth live ten years longer, on average, than those who wear dentures. And, healthy teeth support the ability to eat a healthy diet and feel socially confident to smile and laugh.

A 2006 report by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated “the baby boomer generation will be the first where the majority will maintain their natural teeth over their entire lifetime.”

It adds, “Over the past 10 years, the number of adults missing all their natural teeth has declined from 31 percent to 25 percent for those ages 60 years and older, and from 9 percent to 5 percent for those adults between 40 and 59 years. However, 5 percent means 1 out of 20 middle-aged adults are missing all their teeth.” (https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/basics/adult-oral-health/index.html)

It’s easy to enjoy good oral health. It takes just minutes for proper brushing twice daily and daily flossing so the overall health advantages of healthy gums can be enjoyed. It is also important to have 6-month dental cleanings and exams. These opportunities help to remove bacterial buildup between appointments, often preventing the need for more expensive and time-consuming treatment later.

Symptoms of gum disease include tender gums that bleed easily when brushing, persistent bad breath, swollen gums, gums that turn red in color (versus a healthy pink), and pus pockets that form on gum tissues. Without treatment, teeth will eventually loosen and may require removal.

Protect your smile AND your overall health by keeping your gums healthy. If you’ve delayed care or suspect you have gum disease, call us at 828-274-9440. We are a ‘lecture-free zone’ and respect each patient and his or her needs. We just want to help you enjoy the advantages of a healthy, confident smile!

Periodontal Disease – How It Forms

Posted on Nov 01, 2017 by William J. Claiborne, DDS MS

Last night’s Halloween festivities reminded me just how easily gum disease can form. Late night indulging in the candy gathered by Trick or Treaters could be counted as ‘Step One’ in the process. Here is how it occurs…

Let’s say you indulge in a few sweet treats in the evening. Most of us do on occasion. But let’s say you are so busy that you forget to brush and floss before going to bed. When you wake up, your mouth feels sticky and you can feel a film over teeth. But let’s say you have overslept and are running so late that you fail to brush your teeth before you leave the house.

As you grab a sweetened coffee and donut on the way out the door, you remind yourself to pop a breath mint in your mouth before you get to work, hoping that will camouflage the smelly film that coats your tongue, teeth and gums.

Over the course of the day, you stir sugar in your coffee, sip cola at your desk after lunch and have a candy bar as a pick-me-up mid-afternoon. Heading home, you sip another cola.

Now, let’s look at what your mouth has endured during this process and why your potential for gum disease is greatly increased because of it.

First, the late-night, sugar-laden sweet treat that you ate the evening before is the perfect fuel for oral bacteria. Sugar super-charges oral bacteria, enabling these living, breathing creatures to reproduce rapidly. And, the more they reproduce, the more there are to reproduce.

As oral bacteria grow and thrive in your mouth, they form a film that coats teeth and gums. This is know as plaque. Plaque can form quickly because of how rapid oral bacteria can reproduce. It can be felt by running your tongue over teeth at the end of the day before brushing.

If plaque is not removed daily, it can harden into a substance known as tartar, or calculus. This cement-hard mass attaches to teeth and cannot be brushed or flossed away. It can only be removed by dental professionals using special tools.

Once tartar is on teeth, this mass colony of bacteria continues to grow, eating into tooth enamel and gum tissues. As the bacteria become more than the immune system can manage, the gum tissues become inflamed. This is the beginning of gum disease.

Now, consider that each time you eat or drink, an acid attack begins in the mouth. This is actually a normal part of the digestive process, which helps to break foods down as we chew. However, frequent eating AND consuming food and beverages that contain sugar can easily become more than our oral health can combat.

One of the worst culprits along these lines is soda. Because many people consume sodas by sipping them over the course of an hour, the prolonged acid attack the mouth must endure is a tremendous challenge to one’s oral health. As oral bacteria thrive in the mouth from the sugar, the gums are weakened and the enamel is softened, setting teeth and gums up for disaster.

As the growth of bacteria penetrate beneath the gum line, they are able to attack the structures that support teeth. The inflammation spreads and the gums become sore and turn red. At this point, periodontal disease is running rampant.

As the inflammation expands, the gum tissues bleed easily when brushing teeth. Bad breath is a frequent problem now and the gums are swollen in some areas. At this point, the gums are infected and brushing cannot undo the onslaught of oral bacterial growth.

The infectious bacteria cause pus pockets to form on gums. Because of the damage to gum tissues and bone structures that support teeth, some teeth will loosen and may require removal.

What’s unknown to many, however, is the fact that this infectious bacteria can penetrate gum tissues and enter the bloodstream. Once bloodborne, oral bacteria can travel throughout the body and trigger inflammatory reactions elsewhere.

Research has shown links between oral bacteria and heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, preterm babies, some cancers, high blood pressure, impotency and even Alzheimer’s disease. As a matter of fact, the make-up of tissues from oral bacteria and that of affected arthritis joints are nearly identical — both being inflammatory diseases. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4495574/)

Now, let’s rewind. Rather than have this destructive process occur in the first place, let’s consider how easy it is to prevent. By devoting 2-3 minutes twice a day to proper brushing (at least two minutes each time) and daily flossing (which requires a minute, typically), you can prevent this wildfire effect of inflammatory bacteria growth and destruction.

For tartar buildup that does occur, your 6-month checkups are designed to remove this and give you a clean slate for having and keeping a healthy mouth between visits.

Gum disease is the nation’s leading cause of adult tooth loss. This is sad, considering that gum disease is so preventable. Even worse, the infectious oral bacteria of gum disease can contribute to systemic inflammation, which has been associated with a long list of diseases and serious health conditions.

You can protect your smile and your overall health by renewing your commitment to having and maintaining good oral health. Rather than assume all is well with your oral health unless something hurts, know that your smile needs your attention at least twice a day as well as twice-a-year dental visits.

Let’s get your smile into tip-top shape so it’s easy to maintain! As a periodontal specialist, I have advanced training in treating all levels of periodontal disease and restoring oral health. Additionally, I am able to prevent tooth loss in many instances.

If you’ve delayed dental checkups or suspect you have gum disease, please call 828-274-9440 to schedule an exam.

 

 

 

Know HPV & Connection To Oral Health

Posted on Oct 26, 2017 by William J. Claiborne, DDS MS

An estimated 20 million Americans are infected with HPV, the human papilloma virus. HPVs are a group of more than 200 viruses with 40 types easily spread through direct sexual contact, including vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

The spread of HPV is said to be at an ‘epidemic’ level. Thus, the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention now recommends that 11 – 12 year olds receive an HPV vaccination. Being vaccinated before becoming sexually active can lower one’s risk of being infected by HPV types and several types of cancer HPVs are known to cause.

Virtually all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV. In the 1980’s, HPV was attributed to around 16 percent of mouth and throat tumors. Within two decades, that figure had increased to nearly 75 percent. It’s been predicted that HPV-related mouth and throat cancers will outnumber cervical cancer by 2020.

Oropharyngeal cancers include malignancies of the tonsils, soft palate, base of the tongue and throat. HPV is commonly transferred through genital contact but HPV spread through oral sex is what increases the risk of mouth and throat cancers. (https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-fact-sheet)

 

Other factors that can heighten the risk that HPV will develop into cancer include:

• Smoking or chewing tobacco (increases oropharyngeal cancer risk)
• Having a weakened immune system
• Having many children (increases cervical cancer risk)
• Long-term oral contraceptive use (increases cervical cancer risk)
• Poor oral hygiene (increases oropharyngeal cancer risk)
• Chronic inflammation

While the use of condoms can reduce HPV transmission, condoms do not give complete protection against the infection because areas not covered by a condom can become infected.

To date, there are no FDA approved HPV detection tests for men. While recommended screening methods do not currently exist, HPV infections can be detected by testing cell samples to see if they contain viral DNA or RNA. Research is continuing to look for ways to make early detection easier.

When it comes to oral cancer, alert us immediately if you experience any of the following symptoms that do not clear up within two weeks:

• Have difficulty swallowing
• Have lumps in the neck
• Experience pain in the mouth or ear
• Notice unusual spots inside the mouth (including the tongue) or on the lips

Do NOT wait until your next check-up to have these evaluated. Call 828-274-9440 for an immediate appointment.

Healthy Gums Important For Moms-To-Be

Posted on Oct 10, 2017 by William J. Claiborne, DDS MS

If you followed any of the AMC network’s seven seasons of “Mad Men,” you likely watched episodes where the pregnant wives were not only drinking cocktails, but smoking cigarettes. This is shocking today. Yet in the 1960’s, the decade in which the series took place, it was fairly commonplace.

Times have changed. Today, we not only know about the hazards of smoking and alcohol for adults in general, we know that whatever a mom-to-be consumes can pass through to her unborn baby. Being pregnant in this decade comes with a long list of what to avoid during pregnancy. This includes dietary restrictions, medications, fumes, and especially smoking and alcohol.

We now have greater awareness when it comes to what may be potentially harmful to a developing fetus. An often overlooked hazard for its potential harm to unborn babies is that of periodontal (gum) disease. Fortunately, a growing awareness among the medical field is cautioning pregnant females to keep their gums in healthy shape for the good of their smile and their baby.

For years now, studies have shown that women with periodontal (gum) disease are at higher risk for pre-term babies or low-birth weight babies (babies born with a birth weight of less than 5.5 lbs.). Babies born under these circumstances are at greater risk for long-term health problems, including delayed motor skills, social development and learning disabilities. Additionally, a baby born 3 weeks or more prior to its due date can have similar complications in addition to respiratory problems, vision and hearing loss and digestive problems.

Periodontal disease is an inflammatory condition, resulting from an overload of bacterial accumulation in the mouth. This infectious bacteria can attack gum tissues and the bone structure that supports teeth. Like many diseases in our bodies, gum disease begins without obvious warning signs. Once symptoms emerge, they include tender gums, swollen gums, gums that bleed when brushing, gums that pull away from teeth, persistent bad breath and teeth that become loose. While these signs should create a sense of urgency for anyone who experiences them, responding to them is especially important during pregnancy.

Gum disease is the nation’s leading cause of adult tooth loss and is linked to other serious diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), medical and dental communities agree that maintaining good periodontal health during pregnancy is important. If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, stay current on your dental check-ups and cleanings. Also, be committed to a thorough at-home oral hygiene regimen. This includes twice-daily brushing, daily flossing, and regular dental check-ups.

This is also supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, who now encourage pregnant women to achieve and maintain good oral health. In addition to regular dental cleanings during pregnancy, watch for signs of gum disease since hormonal levels during pregnancy make you more susceptible to gum problems, including Pregnancy Gingivitis (which are similar to gum disease symptoms). If signs of gum disease are present, non-surgical periodontal therapy is safe for pregnant women and can improve gum health.

Through all phases of your pregnancy, make oral hygiene a priority. If you are behind on dental check-ups, seeing a Periodontal specialist can help to reduce your risk for adverse pregnancy complications. This will also help to reduce your own risk for health problems while you support a safe pregnancy and healthy baby.

Gum disease can trigger systemic inflammation in the body, resulting in a higher risk for serious health problems. In addition to pre-term, low birth weight babies, these include heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, some cancers, arthritis, diabetes and impotency.

To learn more about gum health as it relates to pregnancy, visit the web site of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP).
https://www.perio.org/consumer/gum-disease-and-women

To schedule an examination, call 828-274-9440.