Do your gums bleed when you brush? Are you concerned that your gums are red, puffy and tender, or are your teeth loose? These may be signs that indicate that you have gum disease.

You may think that, at the very worse, you may lose your teeth, but there is now evidence that gum disease is also linked to heart and cardiovascular disease and preterm low birth weight babies.

Gum disease starts as a result of poor oral hygiene, allowing bacteria to invade your gum and produce toxins that cause a separation between the roots of your teeth and the supporting bone (pockets). Over time, gum recession, gum inflammation and infections, loss of gum attachment and bone loss will cause your teeth start to appear longer and the affected support makes your teeth looser (more mobile) causing spaces to open between teeth and even displacement of the teeth out of alignment. Biting will become uncomfortable and eventually, the affected tooth will be lost.

Cigarette smoking habit potentiates gum disease and is especially damaging.

Treatment for gum disease (Periodontics) involves removing the soft deposits, biofilm and hard deposits (calculus or tartar) on the tooth and root surfaces to reduce the bacterial load. If these deposits are below the gum line, then deep cleaning and scaling is required. If the pocket is very deep, cleaning under local anaesthesia may be necessary and if these gum attachment loss is sever and does not resolve to maintainable levels, periodontal surgery may be required.