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STITTSVILLE AND OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The Stittsville dentistry team at Trillium Dental knows how important it is to treat signs of gum disease early. Gum disease is detrimental to your tooth and gum health, and it can cost you permanent teeth if left untreated. At every regular teeth cleaning, our Stittsville and Ottawa dental teams screen patients for gum disease. In its early stages, it can be eradicated.

Here are the top 10 reasons to treat gum disease:

1. To Avoid Tooth Loss

Gum disease is the main cause of adult tooth loss. Tooth loss is harmful to your bite, your bone health and your self-esteem. If you treat gum disease early enough, you can thwart tooth loss and protect your smile.

2. To Avoid Gum Recession

Gum disease often causes your gums to pull away from your teeth. The recession forms pockets where bacteria gathers and grows. Treat gum disease and keep your gums healthy, strong and prominent.

3. To Reduce Hospital Visits

Gum disease, especially in advanced stages, can cause severe pain, which may lead you to visit the emergency room more often. Studies show that treating gum disease lowers your ER visits and medical costs.

4. To Reduce Heart Disease Risk

Gum disease has been linked to respiratory disease, diabetes and even some types of cancer. It has also been heavily linked to heart disease. Untreated gum disease can heighten your risk of heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure.

5. To Avoid Bone Deterioration

Severe gum disease causes tooth loss, and tooth loss causes the jawbone to deteriorate. The bone will weaken when the tooth it supports is lost. The deterioration can spread out and weaken other parts of your jaw.

6. To Preserve Your Bite

Losing one or more teeth to gum disease can be avoided. When you lose a tooth, your bite changes. Your teeth may fit together differently, and you may have trouble chewing food. You could even experience migraines or TMJ problems from a destabilized bite.

7. To Keep Your Gums Healthy

Your gums are the foundation of your smile. Healthy teeth come from healthy gums, and strong gums will hold your teeth firmly in place. Healthy gums don’t bleed, don’t recede and don’t cause you pain.

8. To Control the Infection

Gum disease is simply an infection. Bacteria and plaque have caused gum recession and maybe even tooth loss. The infection, if left untreated, could even spread to your bloodstream. You should treat gum disease to control and remove the infection from your body.

9. To Avoid Loosened Teeth

Before a tooth is lost completely, it will grow loose. A loose permanent tooth will feel much like a loose baby tooth, except this is a tooth you’re supposed to keep forever. Treating gum disease will strengthen your gums and strengthen their bonds with your teeth.

10. To Reduce Associated Pain and Discomfort

Gum disease often causes bleeding, tender gums. You may not brush and floss regularly because of the pain, or you may avoid eating when the pain is intense. Treating gum disease will reduce your pain and restore your gums to their previous good health.

Some men think women don’t mask their feelings well. That statement as a whole can be debated, but when it comes to dental anxieties, they’re right.

Data from the Adult Dental Health Survey in Britain recently offered some interesting findings. After viewing pictures of dental procedures in action, women who admitted to having dental phobias were an incredible six times more likely to be disgusted by the images, compared with women who had no qualms regarding dentistry. The study also found that women voiced their disgust and fear of dental work considerably more than men who had the same anxieties. In addition, almost half of the adults surveyed were moderate to severely afraid of the dentist.

The solution to these common dental fears isn’t to avoid the dentist’s office at all costs. Maintaining a clean and healthy smile is vital to multiple aspects of your health, and professional care is the only way to ensure your teeth and gums are thriving. Trillium Dental, a trusted provider of family dentistry in Ottawa, encourages patients to take a hint from the women in the survey and voice their concerns to their dentist.

The thought of receiving extensive dental work can be scary. We understand. Our team of dentists and hygienists aim to make every patient feel comfortable and relaxed so they can receive important treatments in a stress-free environment. We excel in caring for patients with dental anxieties and incorporate modern technologies and techniques that reduce discomfort during treatment.

For those with severe phobias, we offer sedation dentistry. Depending on the type of procedure and your anxiety levels, we can administer three types of safe and proven sedatives. This includes IV sedation, oral sedation, and nitrous oxide, known as “laughing gas.” All three of these options allow us to care for your teeth and gums while you remain totally at ease.

Can you relate with the anxious men and women in the survey? If so, we encourage you to visit one of our office locations in Ottawa, Kanata, Nepean, Orleans or Stittsville. Dentists and hygienists will work with you to ensure a relaxing and stress-free treatment and the outcome of a healthy smile. Give Trillium Dental a call to learn more.

If you’ve ever scratched your gums with an ice cube or crunchy chip, you know gums are sensitive. That’s why we at Trillium Dental, a trusted provider of dentistry in the Kanata area, take a gentler approach to gum disease treatment.

LANAP stands for Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure, and it’s revolutionizing the way gum disease is treated. Developed by Millennium Dental Technologies, Inc., LANAP is a comfortable laser alternative to traditional and painful scalpel and suture surgeries.

Here’s a brief overview of a minimally invasive and comfortable LANAP procedure session:

• A Trillium dentist will conduct an assessment to determine the scope of the infection. LANAP is virtually painless and does not require sedation, but we do offer nitrous oxide, oral and IV sedation options for patients with dental anxieties.
• A remarkably tiny fiber, only about the size of three hairs, is gently placed between the teeth and gums to eliminate the infected tissue in the pocket and kills the germs responsible for gum disease. The fiber leaves healthy tissue unharmed. This action improves accessibility to deeper areas of the pocket.
• The fiber is replaced with a small ultrasonic root cleaner. The ultrasonic root cleaner is used in the pocket to vibrate off tough calcium deposits off the surface of the tooth. An anti-bacterial rinse is then used to wash them away.
• Once the tooth is clean, the fiber is used again to disinfect the floor of the pocket and remove any remaining diseased tissue. The root and bone are also sterilized.
• The fiber causes the blood surrounding the pocket to become sticky and form clots, which seals the once receded gum back to the tooth and prevents dangerous bacteria from re-entering the gum line.

The Canadian Dental Association states seven out of 10 Canadians will develop gum disease in their lifetime. Unfortunately, many Canadians don’t seek professional treatment because they’re fearful of traditional cut and sew procedures. If left untreated, gum disease can prompt tooth loss and jaw bone deterioration. General health conditions like stroke, dementia and heart disease have been linked to diseased gums, as well.

If your gums are especially sensitive, inflamed, bleeding or beginning to recede from the tooth, we urge you to give us a call. In only two, 2 hour sessions and two follow-up visits, your gums can be healed- comfortably. Visit us to learn if LANAP is the best treatment for you.