.svg)
Experiencing bad breath or swollen, sore, bleeding gums?
Gum disease is a common condition that can lead to painful infections and tooth loss if left untreated.
Discover more about gum disease below, why early intervention is important and how our Brisbane dentists can help you keep your gums healthy.
Book nowGeneral services
Gum disease causes gum inflammation and infection, and destroys the jawbone that supports our teeth. When left untreated, gum disease is a leading cause of tooth loss.
Gum disease begins with plaque, a sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on our teeth. Plaque that is not removed through daily brushing and flossing hardens into tartar along the gumline, becoming a breeding ground for bacteria.
Once formed, tartar can only be removed professionally by a dentist. The longer tartar stays on teeth and gums, the more damage it does. This is why regular dental cleans are so important for gum health.
If you experience any symptoms of gum disease, seek urgent treatment from our Ascot dentists or West End dentists.
Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease, where the gums become irritated and inflamed from the bacteria and tartar build-up. Common signs of gingivitis include:
Fortunately, gingivitis is reversible if detected and treated early. This is why it is important that you see your dentist if you experience any symptoms, to stop the gum disease from progressing into periodontitis.
Periodontitis is a form of severe, irreversible gum disease that develops when gingivitis is left untreated.
Periodontitis can progress unnoticed for years, but can be controlled and stabilised if detected early enough by your dentist.
As inflammation pulls the gums away from the teeth, gaps called periodontal pockets are formed beneath the gumline.
Bacteria and tartar then migrate down into these pockets, leading to a chronic gum infection that gradually destroys the jawbone supporting our teeth. The bone loss then leads to deeper pockets, creating a vicious cycle of disease until the tooth becomes loose.
If periodontitis is allowed to reach an advanced stage, the pockets can form painful periodontal abscesses, which are localised infections filled with pus. Symptoms of a periodontal abscess include:
At le tooth, our Brisbane dentists focus on halting the progression of gum disease to stabilise the health of your gums and jawbone.
We believe that the best defence against gum disease is consistent, quality preventative dental care.
Our dentists remove plaque and tartar during your routine dental check-up and cleans to reverse early gum inflammation caused by gingivitis.
With X-rays and 3D imaging, we can also scan beneath the gumline for bone loss and pocketing, allowing us to identify periodontitis early before it becomes a painful emergency.
If periodontitis is present, our Brisbane dentists perform a deep clean beneath the gums to remove bacteria and tartar build-up from inside the periodontal pockets.
Deep cleaning helps to control the gum disease, but does not eliminate it forever, since bacteria can still recolonise the pre-existing pockets. To prevent the periodontitis from worsening, ongoing clinical monitoring and regular maintenance deep cleans are required.
Painful, periodontal abscesses are common once the periodontitis has reached an advanced stage.
While antibiotics can temporarily settle an abscess, they do not eliminate the underlying cause. Even deep cleaning may no longer be a feasible long-term option, especially once periodontal pockets have become so deep that they cannot be effectively cleaned.
At this point, the risk of recurring abscesses is high as bacteria can continuously recolonise the pockets, and the affected tooth may need to be extracted.
Removing the affected tooth eliminates the periodontal pockets and the source of infection permanently, while also preventing further bone and gum loss.
Preserving the remaining bone and gum is key, as it becomes much easier to replace the tooth and restore your smile in the future, such as with a dental implant.
When it comes to gum disease treatment, these are some of the most common questions our patients in Brisbane ask us.