I am proud to say that I have all my own teeth at the age of 65. While that may not sound unusual to some people, everyone in my family who is my age or older wears dentures. I always tell people that that flossing is the key to good dental health. I have arthritis in my hands, but I don't let it keep me from flossing every day. My trick is to use those little "flossers" you can buy at the drug store. They have plastic handles floss stretched out on top of the handle. These make flossing easier on days when my arthritis is acting up. I started this blog to let other people know that they can keep their teeth healthy into old age when they take care of them. If you have hand pain, find ways to make flossing easier, like I did.
Don't Let Hand Pain Keep You from Flossing
It's All Connected: How Gum Disease Can Damage Your Teeth And Bones
Francis Miles
Most people who have experienced gum disease know that the disorder can cause swelling, pain, and bleeding from the gums. However, the discomfort and harm to your gums isn't where this problem stops. If you're having this issue and don't know how dangerous it can be to the rest of your mouth, read on to find out how gum disease can potentially damage your teeth and even the bones of your jaw.
What Causes Gum Disease
The first thing you should know is that gum disease is caused by bacteria. Whether you experienced an injury to your gums that let that bacteria in or it accumulated over time due to poor oral health management, bacteria is always to blame. As you probably know from injuries elsewhere on your body, bacteria may not stay in one place. Without treatment, gum disease can spread, and this is where it causes problems.
The Spread of the Disease
The bacteria responsible for a gum infection can spread to other parts of your mouth once the gums have become badly infected. Bacteria can easily migrate to the bloodstream, where it can cause problems elsewhere in your body. However, before it even gets that far, it can cause tissue damage to your gums.
When your gums aren't healthy, your teeth often aren't either. The bacteria responsible for gum disease can increase the level of plaque and tartar development in your mouth, or the bacteria can attack the root of your teeth directly, putting them in danger.
Gum disease can also cause bone to break down in your jaw. The same bacteria responsible for everything else can break down healthy bone cells in your jaw, thinning the bone.
Preventing Damage
If you think that you might have gum disease, or you're just worried that you could, you should visit a dentist like Sun Dental. When you go to your dentist's office, they'll examine your teeth, gums, mouth, and bones via x-ray. This will allow your dentist to determine if there's already any damage as well as assess what stage of gum disease you have.
If there's no damage, your dentist can potentially reverse your gum disease with just one visit. If it's more severe, it may require multiple visits for treatment. However, you can rest easy knowing that you're doing the very best thing to recover from gum disease and that your teeth and bones will be safer for it.
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