What is Periodontal Disease?

September 6, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

What is periodontal disease? It is the inflammation of the surrounding structures of the teeth, including bone and soft tissues. It can be as simple as gum inflammation or more serious involving the surrounding tissues and the bone. When there is a surmountable amount of bone loss, the teeth loosen and can eventually lead to tooth loss.

If you have been told you have periodontal disease (or periodontitis), it does not mean you will automatically lose your teeth.  It also does not necessarily mean you need surgery.  There are non-surgical procedures that can be performed by your dentist or dental hygienist that have remarkable results.  A lot depends on you and your homecare. If these procedures do not produce the wanted results, you may eventually  have to submit to surgery.

We all have bacteria in our mouth that combines with our saliva to produce what is called plaque. This plaque is sticky and needs to be removed by flossing and brushing.  The plaque releases toxins that irritate the gums (which make them inflamed). Since plaque is produced continuously,  the need to remove the plaque daily is necessary. If it is not, the inflammation of gum tissues will occur and you will have bleeding when you do finally brush and floss. This stage of the disease is called “gingivitis” and is reversible.  But,If you do not seek treatment it may proceed to “periodontitis“.

In periodontitis, there are many stages.  The number of appointments depends on the severity of the case.   Root planing and scaling is one very common  procedure that involves removing plaque and tartar under the gums and smoothing of the root surface. Tartar is the plaque that was not removed when it was sticky and newly formed . After time it hardens and cannot be removed with flossing and brushing. After removing the plaque and tartar the tissues will have a chance to heal to a healthy condition. But it does not stop here. You have to do your homecare to help the healing process and to keep the tissues in this healthy state. You may need to use multiple tools such as a waterpik, sonicare toothbrush, very small brushes to reach difficult areas. There are many other additional aids that your dentist or dental hygienist can recommend.  Your home care also includes your overall health.  There are studies showing that smokers have a greater risk of developing periodontal disease and that smoking impairs the healing process. Smoking and periodontal or gum disease also go hand and hand with heart disease.  So periodontal disease can impair your overall health. Remember a lot depends on you!

If you think you may have periodontal disease give Dr. Antolak a call at 586.247.3500.  Our dental office is located in Shelby Township, Michigan and provides dental services to patients throughout southeast Michigan.

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What to Expect at The Gentle Dentist in Shelby Township

June 23, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Hi, my name’s Dr. Antolak. I’m the owner here of  The Gentle Dentist. We’re located in Shelby Township, Michigan.  So glad you made the time to invest in, in looking at our website. What to expect when you come into our office is a lot of smiling faces. When you come in here, you’ll see the fact that we really care for you. And we really desire the fact that you are the most important person when you come in here.

Our very friendly team of very competent dental healthcare professionals are here to help serve you. We also want to make sure that when you come in that all your needs are met. And so you have a questionnaire that your going to answer and in that questionnaire we’ll go through a process that just helps us to stimulate some conversation. If you have had some bad experiences before, sit down and talk about those experiences so that we can make sure we create a good, nurturing environment for you to develop trust.

During your process as a patient coming in we will give you a tour of our office. We’ll take a series of photographs, digital photographs, where you can actually see what’s going on within your own mouth. And that way you can help direct the type of dentistry that you want. We’ll talk to you about what the possibilities. But if we know what direction you want to go for yourself  and we know exactly what your long terms goals are and maybe the things that have prevented you from getting treatment done before, we can formulate a plan for you for that.

Next, I’ll do an examination. I check all kinds of different things:

  • gum disease
  • head and neck cancer, with examination for cancer
  • problems that you may have with some pain
  • headache evaluation
  • evaluate your teeth, with the health of your teeth to include cavities

We give a fully comprehensive examination, and then we’ll develop a plan for you. If it’s something simple, or whether it’s something very complex. We will sit down and talk to you about your different options that you have available. Included with those options, we do have a number of different financial options available. So why don’t you give us a call at our office. Which, that number is (586) 247-3500, or you can visit our website at the gentledentist.com. Thank you.

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Shelby Dentist: Periodontal Disease and Chronic Inflammation Treatment

August 20, 2010 by ·

Do you have bad breath, bleeding gums when brushing or flossing, loose teeth or history of tooth loss?  If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you may have periodontal disease. Gum disease is very common. Unfortunately most people don’t even know that they have periodontal (gum) disease.  It isn’t until it is too late when their teeth start getting loose that they want to do something about it and many times it is too late and they have to have their teeth removed or need extensive treatment.  In fact, with recent research linking the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and low birth weight babies with periodontal disease and bleeding gums it is critical to have your mouth assessed for this infective disease. The bacteria in the gums leach out in the blood stream requiring the body’s immune system to constantly fight off these invaders.

This constant and chronic immune response is not a good thing because it causes chronic inflammation. Over the past 3-4 years research has been showing that chronic systemic inflammatory diseases such as periodontal disease can increase the level of a substance called c-Reactive protein. The liver releases this substance in response to systemic inflammation.  As the level of c-reactive protein increases so does the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, heart attack, and diabetes according to multiple clinical studies. In fact, testing for C-reactive protein in a blood test may be an effective early warning test for asymptomatic, or presymptomatic heart disease.

Listed are chronic systemic diseases that can increase the c-Reactive protein levels in the blood.

  • acne allergies and sensitivities
  • Alzheimer’ss disease
  • arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis
  • asthma
  • atherosclerosis
  • bronchitis
  • cancer
  • carditis
  • celiac disease
  • chronic pain
  • Crohn’s disease
  • cirrhosis
  • colitis
  • dementia
  • dermatitis
  • diabetes
  • edema
  • emphysema
  • eczema
  • fibromyalgia
  • gastroenteritis
  • gingivitis
  • heart disease
  • hepatitis
  • high blood pressure
  • interstitial cystitis
  • myositis
  • nephritis
  • obesity
  • osteopenia
  • osteoporosis
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • periodontal disease
  • polyarteritis
  • polychondritis
  • psoriasis
  • rheumatoid arthritis
  • scleroderma
  • sinusitis
  • spastic colon
  • syndrome X
  • systemic candidiasis
  • tendonitis
  • UTI
  • vaginitis

We find that the c-reactive protein levels can significantly fall once the periodontal disease is treated which in effect can reduce their risk for heart attacks, stroke, diabetes and low weight preterm babies. In addition to the treatment in our office, we work to boost the body/s immune system by using anti-oxidants. For smokers, we highly suggest to them that they become part of a smoking cessation program. If you are in a high risk category and don’t know your status of periodontal disease then have it evaluated.  The c-reactive protein levels are evaluated by blood tests and since this is important indicator your periodontal status should also be tested.  This is to protect you and your heart.  If you don’t have a dentist you can contact our office at (586) 247-3500.  Our Dental Office is located in Shelby Township, Michigan — Southeast Michigan in Macomb County.

About The Author

Dr. Robert Antolak, DDS graduated from the University of Michigan in 1987 with his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. He is dedicated to providing the highest quality and appropriate cosmetic, sedation and general dentistry in the most comfortable and gentle way possible. Because being a dentist has been a lifelong dream, Dr. Antolak has a passion for the profession. He enjoys helping people feel better about their smiles and therefore their self-image with dental implant and cosmetic dentistry. His Dental Practice is located in Shelby Township, Michigan.  For more information visit The Gentle Dentist.

Filed Under: Dental Hygiene, General Dentistry, Health Implications, Mouth pain, Nutrition, Periodontal Disease Tagged With: , , , , ,
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