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Don't Let Dieting Impact Your Oral Health

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Don't Let Dieting Impact Your Oral Health

Like many people who need to lose a few pounds, I try diet after diet in an attempt to find one that finally works for me. I learned the hard way that I need to make sure any diet will not harm my teeth, even if it does help me lose a few pounds. I learned this lesson when following a grapefruit diet. There are many versions of this, but the version I tried had me eat a grapefruit alone several times each day. It was supposed to suppress my appetite. I helped keep me from munching on unhealthy snacks, but the acid in the fruit took a toll on my tooth enamel and I quickly started getting lots of cavities. I created this blog to remind people that change up their diets often to make sure the foods they are eating are not harming their teeth.

Laser: Another Alternative For Gum Surgery To Treat Periodontal Disease

19 April 2016
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

Periodontal disease is a serious gum infection for which there are no instant cures. Severe periodontal disease often requires surgery – the thought of which may scare you. If you are looking for another alternative to traditional gum surgery, recent studies show that laser treatment for gum disease produces outcomes similar to nonsurgical gum disease treatment such as deep-cleaning procedures to remove infected bony tissue under the gum line. Still, it helps to understand why you may need gum surgery and what laser gum surgery has to offer.

Attacking Oral Bacteria That Can Lead to Gum Disease

Deep-cleaning procedures remove plaque and tartar buildup at the gum line where oral bacteria accumulate. Unless the surfaces of tooth roots are cleaned, these bacteria can cause gum tissues to become inflamed, stimulating a chronic inflammatory response that can damage the gums, periodontal ligaments, and bone that support the teeth.

Dentists traditionally perform scaling and root planing – a time-consuming technique – using hand and ultrasonic instruments to remove bacteria. But sometimes the procedure isn't enough to successfully treat gum disease. You may need surgery if periodontal disease is severe and damages the tissue surrounding your teeth.

Making a Choice

One of the numerous advantages of laser gum surgery is that heat from the laser seals the gums, forming blood clots that prevent bacteria from recreating a gum pocket – the gaps formed when the gums pull away from the teeth. Preventing the formation of gum pockets is critical to good oral health since these spaces can become infected by bacteria if build-up of dental plaque is left untreated and spreads below the gum line.

Besides sealing blood vessels, laser surgery offers other advantages you may want to consider if your dentist recommends surgical treatment for gum disease. Laser surgery:

  • Is less invasive than traditional gum surgery

  • Involves no cutting or need for stitches, reducing the risk of post-treatment infection

  • Requires fewer treatments sessions and followup visits than traditional gum surgery

  • Destroys disease-causing bacteria and disinfects the surrounding gum tissue

  • Leaves healthy gum tissue intact

  • Causes less bleeding, as the laser seals off blood vessels so that blood clots more quickly

  • Causes only minimal swelling

  • Requires shorter treatment time

  • Reduces pain and discomfort during and following treatment

  • Leads to faster healing

Reasons why you might choose laser gum surgery over traditional gum surgery:

  1. You want a minimally invasive treatment approach.

  2. You are afraid of traditional gum surgery. With laser gum surgery, you may experience less anxiety.

  3. You have sensitive gums and teeth.

  4. You've had recurring periodontal infections or disease.

  5. You take blood thinners, which increase the risk of bleeding during and after surgery.

  6. You have another medical condition, such as diabetes and certain heart conditions, that makes traditional gum surgery more risky.

Cost

If you are considering laser gum surgery to treat your periodontal disease, cost is another factor to take into account. While the cost of laser gum surgery varies by dentist and the area of the country in which you reside, generally, it costs about the same as traditional gum surgery. Insurance companies that offer coverage for traditional gum surgery often cover some of the costs for laser gum surgery; however, you need to check your dental plan for details on the extent of your coverage.