Services
Prevention, Oral Hygiene and Periodontal Disease
Having satisfactory oral hygiene is vital to keeping healthy teeth and gums.
The daily use of a toothbrush together with dental floss and, in specific cases, antibacterial mouthwashes, is the best weapon available to prevent tooth decay, as well as periodontal and gum disease.
It is for this very reason that our surgeries rely on the collaboration of a dental hygienist that develops programmes aimed at teaching and keeping up good oral hygiene habits for all our patients, paying particular attention to riskier situations (children with growing teeth, patients who wear prostheses or orthodontic braces…).
“Prevention is better than curing”.
GUM AND PERIODONTAL DISEASE
As regards dental prevention, it has been known for some time that healthy gums are a very important factor in an overall healthy mouth and stomatognatic system in general. Despite this, however, periodontal disease - a bacterial infection that affects the tissues supporting the teeth (gum, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone) is widespread among the majority of adult patients visiting a regular dentist.
Gum and periodontal problems often begin at a young age, manifested in transitional surface inflammations that lead to common gingivitis (bleeding gums with reddening and slight swelling of the mucous edge in contact with the tooth), to continue undetected and generally in the absence of symptoms until it turns into genuine peridontal disease with the loss - to a serious or less serious extent - of alveolar bone and the destruction of the periodontal ligament and the appearance of tooth mobility.
The main cause of gum and periodontal disease can be found in plaque, a yellow-white film made up of bacteria normally found in the mouth and food residue that, if not removed constantly through good oral hygiene habits, can lead to the appearance of inflammation of the gum border. What's more, on contact with saliva fluids, plaque can turn into tartar, calcified plaque that in turn can form under the gum border and lead to chronic inflammation of the peridontum.
Cigarette smoke is also linked to a higher incidence of gum and periodontal disease, due to both the vascular alterations induced in the oral tissues as well as to the modifications of the defence mechanisms designed to fight the bacteria that cause plaque.
Lastly, remember that certain system diseases (diabetes, hypertension) and certain categories of drugs (immunosuppressants, antidepressants) can lead to the appearance of periodontal disease.
Also, we must not forget how there is an element of individual predisposition, so a lot of people are genetically disposed to develop gum and periodontal problems.
Recent studies have shown that people with healthy gums not only have excellent chances of maintaining a healthy mouth, but also of not being be exposed to chronic infection, in this case deriving from periodontal disease, allowing the prevention of even more serious problems for the organism (increase in size of atherosclerotic plaques, worsened by cardiovascular and internal pathologies, increased risk of premature births).
In the light of these considerations, we recommend that all patients contact their regular dentist in the event of bleeding and/or sore gums, tooth mobility and halitosis.
A healthy lifestyle and correct oral hygiene, combined with regular check-ups, make it possible to diagnose gum and periodontal disease early, and to adopt suitable prevention measures and treatment.
Remember that in GBona surgeries, all diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for the prevention and cure of gum and periodontal problems - whether non-surgical (tartar removal) or surgical (root planing, curettage) are performed entirely by dentists and paramedical staff (dental hygienists) authorised to do so.
COSTS:
Euro 70.00 for a session of tartar removal or dental hygiene performed exclusively by the dental hygienist or a dentist.
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