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Ronald Watkins, DDS, MS has created this informative blog to help educate the community.
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Are Gum Pockets a Problem? |
Posted on 11/16/2020 by Ronald Watkins |
One of the ways we diagnose gum disease is by measuring gum pockets. Gum pockets or periodontal pockets are the spaces surrounding your teeth, beneath the gum line. Read on to learn more about what gum pockets tell us, and how they can be treated. How Are Gum Pockets Measured? During an oral exam, we measure the depth of gum pockets using a very small ruler called a probe. We take six measurements per tooth, three on the inner side and three on the outer side. It is normal to have a very small space, about one to three millimeters, around each tooth. Proper brushing and flossing can clean food and debris from spaces of this size. What Deep Gum Pockets Tell Us A gum pocket depth of between three and five millimeters is an indicator of early gum disease, otherwise known as gingivitis. If gum pockets are deeper than five millimeters, this is a sign of gum disease that has progressed beyond gingivitis, with pocket depth of seven to ten millimeters indicating advanced periodontitis. In some cases, pocket depth might be classified as mild to moderate (for example, four millimeters) while the presence of other symptoms such as bleeding gums would point to more severe periodontitis. Gum pockets are the result of gum tissue detaching from your teeth. The deeper the pocket around a tooth is, the more space there is for plaque to build up and bacteria to thrive. It is very difficult or even impossible to clean food and debris out of a space deeper than the normal one to three millimeter pocket. Without treatment, bacteria continue to grow in the pocket, gum tissue continues to detach from the teeth, and eventually bone and tooth loss can occur as a result. How Are Gum Pockets Treated? Treatment depends on the depth of the gum pocket and how much gum disease has progressed. In addition to measuring gum pocket depth, we will probably also take X-rays to see if there is any bone loss under the gum line. Early gum disease can typically be reversed with a diligent daily oral hygiene routine. Treatment options for more severe periodontitis include antibiotics, scaling and root planing, and various surgical procedures. If you are concerned that you may have gum disease, call our office to set up an appointment....
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Why Do So Many Athletes Have Gum Disease? |
Posted on 11/9/2020 by Ronald Watkins |
Athletes, like many of us, have an excellent oral hygiene routine that they stick to every day. In practice, this should prevent the development of any oral complications and increase the vitality of their teeth. However, many athletes find that their oral health is impacted by their profession. While this may seem strange at first, since their body is otherwise in peak form, the conditions in which their oral cavity has to endure no doubt leads to consequences. The Impact of an Athlete's Diet Research has found that almost half of all athletes have untreated tooth decay. While tooth decay is reasonably common in adults, athletes are expected to have excellent health due to the nature of their occupation. The reason tooth decay is so high for athletes is partially due to their diet. Athletes want the leanest food, with the most amount of energy. This means they are often consuming foods high in carbohydrates and sugar, both of which can damage the enamel of the teeth. Energy drinks or sports drinks have a lot of glucose and can damage the teeth if consumed often. Sport Injuries Not only are the athlete's teeth potentially damaged by their strict diet, they can also experience an injury that causes oral complications. One third of all sports injuries happen in the facial area, which means that should an athlete fall or receive a blow to the face, they could loosen or lose a tooth. It is reported that 32% of sportsmen and women said their oral health has had a negative impact on their performance during sport. This highlights the difficult interplay between oral health and athletic performance as they both affect each other. If you are an athlete and follow a strict diet, contact our office for the best advice on how to maintain excellent oral health....
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Is Your Oral Health Connected to the Health of Your Prostate? |
Posted on 10/19/2020 by Ronald Watkins |
Kееріng уоur mоuth hеаlthу іѕ instrumental in preventing several оrаl afflictions ѕuсh as tооth dесау, gingivitis, and gum disease (tо nаmе a fеw). This іѕ соmmоn sense, the tуре оf thіng уоu have been tоld уоur еntіrе lіfе. Bruѕh, flоѕѕ, rіnѕе with mоuthwаѕh аnd rереаt. Whаt vеrу fеw people realize, hоwеvеr, is that thеrе аrе direct соrrеlаtіоnѕ between a реrѕоn'ѕ oral hеаlth ѕtаtе аnd thеіr оvеrаll hеаlth. Scientists have mаdе great ѕtrіdеѕ іn thіѕ rеѕресt, аѕ аn іnсrеаѕіng аmоunt of rеѕеаrсh іѕ mаkіng іt mоrе аnd mоrе арраrеnt thаt wе nееd to tаkе gооd care оf оur mouths. Mеn ѕhоuld dulу nоtе thе fіndіngѕ of оnе rесеnt ѕtudу in раrtісulаr, аѕ it hаѕ bееn fоund thаt рrоѕtаtе disease соuld bе аggrаvаtеd аnd furthered bу gum dіѕеаѕе. Aѕ ѕсаrу аѕ the thоught mау bе, this research раvеѕ hоw doctors саn іdеntіfу аnd dеtесt сеrtаіn ailments. By recognizing thе lіnk bеtwееn gum dіѕеаѕе аnd рrоѕtаtе рrоblеmѕ, оur professionals саn асt ассоrdіnglу аnd рrеѕсrіbе trеаtmеnt rеgіmеnѕ thаt аrе mоrе іn line wіth thе patients' nееdѕ. Thе Link between Gum аnd Prоѕtаtе Disease Researchers hаvе fоund a strong соrrеlаtіоn bеtwееn thе...
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