Gum Treatments and the Role of Periodontics

Gum treatments and anything related to the gums will always have a tie up with periodontics. Periodontics is a branch of dental medicine that deals with the periodontium. Periodontium includes 2 aspects of the mouth: the gums and the supporting tissues of the gums. These supporting tissues include the root surface, the periodontal ligaments and the bones.

Of course, when one seeks a particular kind of treatment, there is the presentation of something irregular or “out of the normal” in the patient. When one seeks of gum treatments, it is usually to address inflamed, bleeding or sensitive gums. Inflammation, bleeding and sensitivity of the gums may be caused by several factors. One, it can be caused by poor hygiene. If you are not a fan of using mouthwashes, or if you are not a fan of regular teeth brushing and flossing, then you are likely to develop gum problems. What happens when we do not regularly brush, floss or use mouthwash is that it becomes the breeding conditions for the development of plaques. Also, if you are also not a fan of seeing a dentist, these plaques may progress into tartar, which are basically hardened plaques. The presence of tartar may cause gums to bleed or be inflamed. Especially if one just got off the dentist’s chair after a deep scaling procedure, one can readily see the inflammation of the gums by how red the gums look like. 

Other than promoting good hygiene, gum treatment may include the performance of periodontal surgeries especially in cases of advanced gingivitis. These surgical procedures may include tissue and bone grafts as well as flap surgery in order to help gums not build up on plaque and tartar. But then again, these surgical procedures are last resort suggestions as much as possible. Of course, even before the talk leads to these possible surgeries, a periodontist may suggest teeth or tooth extraction especially if the gums have already weakened through time. What happens with weak gums is that it does not hold the tooth or the teeth as strongly as it should, and it might be best to just take the tooth or teeth in question out. Dental implants or the wearing of dentures or porcelain are usually the next order of business after such extractions.