Justin C. K. Davis, M.D. is one of San Francisco's finest house call specialist physicians, and has been providing house calls and office visits to the Bay Area since 2005. His practice is built upon a philosophy of excellent customer service and excellent patient care.
JUSTIN C.K. DAVIS, M.D.: Hi. My name is Dr. Justin Davis, and today I would like to tell you briefly about periodontal disease. Periodontal disease, also called periodontitis, is an inflammation around the gums and the around the bones at the base of the teeth. Eventually, as periodontal disease progresses, you may lose bone in the jaw, which eventually leads to a loosening of the teeth and eventually a loss of the teeth. Now, what causes periodontal disease? Usually, it is poor oral hygiene combined with bacteria in the mouth that caused an infection and an inflammatory reaction by the body trying to fight off that infection. Some of the symptoms of early periodontal disease may be receding of the gums, frequent bleeding of the gums particularly when flossing or brushing your teeth, bad breath, also called halitosis, and eventually as these progresses, you may notice that your teeth seemed to be getting longer as the gums recede and teeth may become loose or you may have pain in the teeth. Treatment usually depends upon the stage of the disease. In very early stages of the disease, simply using good oral hygiene can be enough to cure or reverse the disease process. This means brushing your teeth at least once a day, particularly with a toothpaste that contains fluoride, flossing your teeth, and visiting your dentist for dental cleanings and evaluations regularly. As the disease gets more severe, there maybe a special technique that a periodontist, a specialized kind of dentist, can do to clean the teeth properly, below the gum line, and eventually, if the disease progresses beyond that, surgery may be necessary to correct the problem. Preventing periodontal disease starts with having a good diet. This means not too many sugars and eating foods that require you to get a little bit of exercise with your teeth; that means plenty of chewing. Also, having regular dental cleanings and the dentist examining your teeth regularly is a very important part of prevention. So, if you think that you may be having some symptoms of periodontitis or periodontal disease like pain or bleeding around the gum line or in the teeth, make sure to visit your dentist. So, if you think that you may be having symptoms of periodontal disease such as receding gum lines, bleeding teeth, or pain around the teeth, make sure that you visit your dentist.
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