Home Care

Home Care Instructions:
1. Floss twice a day (morning and night). Wrap the dental floss around your middle finger and guide the floss with your index fingers and/or your thumbs as instructed in a “C” shape and scrap up and down.
2. Brush three times a day (morning, lunch, and bedtime). Hold the toothbrush at a 45 degree angle toward the gum line and direct the toothbrush under the gums using a small circular stroke. DO NOT RUSH! Spend 3 to 5 minutes brushing. Dry brushing is fine if it is more convenient. Rinse with water and expectorate.
3. Rubber tip one or two times a day. Using the tip of the stimulator, trace around the gum line of the teeth. Place the rubber tip between the teeth from the inside and outside surfaces and use gentle pressure to massage the gum tissue.
4. Proxabrush one or two times a day if recommended by your dental hygienist. Work the brush between open spaces and around bridgework.
5. If using a water pik, fill the tank with warm water and use medium speed directing the water at the right angle to the long axis of the tooth (never angle the waterjet down into the gum tissue). If you have a heart murmur, heart disease, or an artificial joint, check with your physician before using a water jet device.
6. Use fluoride rinses or desensitizing toothpastes daily if recommended.

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Preventing Recurring Periodontal Disease

Prevention of gum disease for the 75-80% of us who have (had) some form of gingivitis or periodontitis really means preventing it from recurring once we have it under control. Regular dental visits, once again, is one of the top things to do. The dental hygienist and dentist can tailor the frequency of visits to the individual person. Also, the more frequently you visit us, the more need for a personalized home care program to meet your specific needs. And, the dental team can give advice on selecting dental products that will work best for each individual. www.ada.org/public/topics/periodontal_diseases.asp
Homecare is a MAJOR factor in controlling gum disease. Morning, midday, and evening. Floss, brush and usually rubbertip. A good fluoride toothpaste should be used as well as a fluoride mouthrinse. Most people in this situation have recession, and fluoride helps protect the root surfaces.
Eat a well balanced diet, and exercise as often as possible. And, once again, stay away from tobacco products.

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Prevention of Periodontal Disease

Prevention of Periodontal Disease (PD) should be a major concern for all of us. In 75-80% of the adults, the concern really should be cleaning up the gums and getting control of the PD (since it can NOT be cured). For today, let’s focus more on prevention in the young people and in the 20-25% of adults not affected by PD.
Floss daily, preferably before you go to bed. Then, brush well with a good fluoride toothpaste for approximately two minutes. The flossing will loosen up food and plaque particles that the brush can then help remove. Rinse by swishing the water around. Spit out and repeat. Rinse and swish 2 or 3 times.
Go to the dentist regularly. For some, that means every six months. For others, the need may be more frequently. If you have dental insurance, great! But, it should not be the deciding factor on how often you visit the dental office. Your dentist and/or your hygienist may provide additional ideas on cleaning your mouth at home.
Eat a well balanced diet, which means you need to meet your nutritional needs while not providing any nutrients in excess. Eat items from the following groups: milk and milk products, meat and meat substitutes, fruits and vegetables, and the grains group. Don’t use tobacco products in any way, shape, or form.

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Periodontal Disease is a Silent Disease

Knowing all that we know about Periodontal Disease (PD), how is it that 75-80% of us are affected by it?
Periodontal Disease is a silent disease in that it does not hurt (until advanced stages) and can go undetected in its earliest stage. Too often, people don’t go to the dentist regularly and start to build up plaque between their teeth. If the person is not a flosser, the plaque starts to accumulate more and more between their teeth. The once healthy gums, pink and firm around each tooth, now start to become inflamed between the back teeth where the plaque is building up. With gingivitis now established, the bacteria residing in the plaque produce toxins that start to break down the attachment of the gums to the teeth. The body’s inflammatory response is to bring increased amounts of blood to those areas to fight off the toxins. The gums become puffy, tender and swollen, and can bleed easily with brushing and flossing (not likely any flossing is occurring in this person).
A cleaning at the dental office at this point could start to turn things around. Flossing and brushing would go a long way toward health. Of course, this person doesn’t have any pain, and is unaware of this situation.
Periodontitis sets in as the plaque by-products, the toxins, destroy the tissues that hold the teeth in the bone. The attachment of the gum to the root surfaces start to be destroyed and pockets develop between the gum and the teeth. The gums pull away from the teeth and recede. More plaque is now accumulating below the gum line in these pockets. Some of the plaque on the root surfaces is hardening into tartar. Like the barnacles forming on the piers at the ocean, the tartar is rough and more plaque sticks to the rough surfaces and become hardened. As the disease progresses, bone under the gums that anchors the teeth begins to dissolve away. The person may notice an unpleasant odor coming from their mouth – bad breath. The gums may bleed when brushing. At this point, with less bone anchoring the teeth and less gum tissue covering the roots, the teeth appear longer and are sensitive to cold and are more susceptible to decay.
In advanced periodontitis, the toxins deep in the pockets continue to destroy the periodontal ligaments and bone, causing the teeth to lose more support. Unless treated, the affected teeth become more mobile and may fall out.
The key, is to not let this all get started. Should you find yourself progressing down the path described above, work hard on brushing and flossing and get into the dental office for evaluation and necessary treatment. You do not have to lose teeth to periodontal disease!

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