Periodontal disease and its effects on general health

We really dislike gum disease and spend a lot of our time preferably preventing it and actively working to eradicate it and keep it at bay.

There are essentially two causes for gum disease.

Much of the time we find that people have simply developed bad cleaning habits over time and poor plaque control can cause significant problems to develop without being noticed.

This is why we check your gums every time we see you and together with our lovely hygienists, we nag you into submission (well that’s the plan).

The second cause is genetic predisposition. These patients unfortunately respond particularly badly to the bacterial plaque growing on their teeth.

These individuals need to be identified as early as possible and put into a vigorous programme of both preventative hygiene therapy and persistent nagging to reduce the damage done and hopefully keep the disease at bay.

It has become apparent over recent years that patients with active gum disease are more likely to suffer from other systemic conditions.

An old friend of mine, Professor Iain Chapple, has recently helped compile a very helpful website for the International Dental Federation which not only explains these conditions but also has links to the academic research on which it is based for the very very keen amongst you.

https://whole-body-health.fdiworlddental.org

We’re not trying to give you nightmares, merely explaining why we go on so much about preventing this dangerous and unpleasant disease.