How Does Bone Loss Occur?

Your smile is impacted by bone loss. Bone loss occurs when gums become inflamed with bacteria that is not treated. As the pocket grows in depth and more plaque and bacteria builds up, it begins to attack the bone and your teeth. Your dentist will see that the tissue begins to pull away from the gums.

Without treatment of the periodontal disease the bacteria begins to move deeper into the pocket and will begin to attack the jawbone and the roots of the teeth. Your teeth may feel loose; your gums may bleed and be very swollen.  If you lose your teeth, the jaw is unable to get the stimulus it needs. Your smile may begin to droop as you lose teeth, causing you to look older than you really are.

Bone loss may also occur if you have an infected root. While a root canal will help heal the infection and seal the area, sometimes bacteria and infection can continue to attack the jawbone around the area where the infection is. “It is extremely important,” says Dr. Rice, one of Inland Empire’s Top Periodontist’s, “to schedule your regular visits in order to take care of any reoccurring problems.”

Dr. Denine Rice says,” One of the most common reasons  for bone loss is periodontal disease and it is preventable.” It may take years for bone loss to occur in your mouth. If you have the early stages of periodontal disease you should see your Periodontist for an extensive oral exam. Once bone loss occurs it is difficult to repair the problem and sometimes the damage is too extensive and the only option is more expensive teeth replacement choices. 

My Gums Are Healed. Do I Have to Keep Going to the Periodontist?

It is awesome that you visited your periodontist and completed your LANAP surgery. By now you should have noticed the healing of your gums. Your pocket depths should be decreasing and your tissue getting stronger. While this is important and fantastic you need to continue visiting your periodontist every three months for a while.

 

      Dr. Denine Rice recommends that you continue regular visits with her and her team until the presence of the disease is gone.  You may have one or more years of healing after you have had LANAP surgery. It is critical to the success of your surgery to continue to visit your periodontist as long as is recommended.  The goal is to get your gums back to a state of health, regenerate bone growth and to alternate between your Periodontist and your regular dentist for regular dental check-ups and cleanings. There is no perfect time line that this occurs and may take longer for some patients than others.

      LANAP laser surgery offers faster healing of diseased gums so that most patients can return to work the next day. With healing this quick and effective it also offers opportunities for patients to return to their general dentist for care in a faster amount of time then traditional periodontal surgery.

Periodontal Disease & Pregnancy, Effects on Your Baby

The effects of periodontal disease can negatively impact your baby. Women who have been diagnosed with periodontal disease, build-up of plaque and inflammation of the gums have a higher rate of delivering babies before the due date. This bacteria build-up not only gets into the blood stream and can impact your heart, lungs and brain, it can also be detrimental to the overall health and well being of your newborn.

 

Prostaglandin is the hormone produced to initiate labor. However, according to Dr. Denine Rice, “Women who have more advanced periodontal disease have higher levels of prostaglandin.” This higher level of prostaglandin can cause women to deliver a baby earlier. Babies who are born prematurely may have trouble breathing due to immature lung development. They may also have a higher risk of learning difficulties, behavioral troubles and get sick more often. A full term baby’s body and brain have time to develop properly. Premature babies are more likely to have vision and hearing difficulties than babies that are not born prematurely. Babies that are born premature may also have low birth weight. When your baby is born they should weigh between five to ten pounds. While babies that are born early tend to weigh between one point five to five pounds. Infants this small may have compromised immune systems and require extensive medical attention.

This situation is not hopeless, if you have periodontal disease or beginning stages call your Riverside Periodontist, Dr.Denine Rice and schedule and appointment today.

Periodontal Disease & Pregnancy

Unfortunately, periodontal disease and gingivitis impact over 38.4 percent of women according to a study completed by the center for disease control.  Further studies have found that women who are pregnant are more susceptible to the disease due to other hormone changes in the body. Periodontal disease or build-up of bacteria in the body can get into the blood stream and close off arteries and may be responsible for some heart attack related deaths.

Due to an increase in bacteria in the mouth you may also experience large lumps in the gums due to an increase in bacteria. These are called pregnancy lumps and are usually not painful or cancerous, however they may require a visit to the periodontist in order to get them taken care of.

Women who are pregnant and have periodontal disease may have higher levels of CRP. CRP is a C-reactive protein that is produced in the liver. CRP tests can detect whether there is inflammation in the body. High levels of C-reactive protein has been linked to pre-eclampsia in women who are pregnant.  Pre-eclampsia causes high levels of protein in a mother’s urine and high blood pressure. Pre-eclampsia can be mild or it can lead to more severe life-threatening situations where the only choice is to deliver the baby.

While pregnancy and the birth of your baby should be an exciting time in your life, it is very important to take care of periodontal disease or gingivitis very quickly, leaving the disease untreated can cause problems for you and your baby. If your gums bleed when you are brushing and flossing and you are pregnant schedule an appointment today with one of Inland Empire’s top periodontists, Dr. Denine Rice.

Periodontal disease in kids

Periodontal Disease in Kids

 

Are you shocked to hear that periodontal disease can impact your children? While it is not as common as periodontal disease in adults, it is possible. Great oral care and a healthy diet can reduce the risks of periodontal disease in children. As parents it is our job to model proper oral hygiene for our children. It is recommended by one of Inland Empire’s Top Dentists and a Periodontic Specialist, Dr. Denine Rice, to begin to brush and floss your child’s teeth as soon as their first teeth come in and then monitor their oral health by checking for bleeding or swollen gums.

The American Academy of Periodontology, reports "Some children who exhibit more severe signs of periodontal disease may be exhibiting early signs of other systemic diseases and should be checked out further.” While teens may be at a greater risk for periodontal disease due to all of the hormone changes going on in their body. "It is increasingly important," according to Dr. Denine Rice, "that they develop healthy dental habits early in their childhood.” While teaching your young children to floss it is recommended that you are knee to knee in order to help them. There are also multiple types of floss that are easy to glide between teeth and made for children to make this process easier. If your child’s gums bleed while you are flossing, continue to floss twice a day. The gums will heal on their own if it is just gingivitis. If the bleeding continues for longer than a week this may be indicative of more severe periodontal disease and require different treatment. If you feel your child may need a thorough evaluation for periodontal disease, don't delay, call your dentist today.

Should I expect to lose my teeth when I’m older?

Losing your teeth is not a part of the normal aging process. It is due to gum disease from poor brushing and flossing habits, not visiting the dentist on a regular basis, or poor overall health. The early stage of gum disease is called gingivitis and begins when bacteria builds up in the mouth. When bleeding first occurs intercept the disease by changing your oral routine. It is also recommended by Dr. Denine Rice, of Rice Periodontics and Implant Surgery of Riverside, CA that you schedule an appointment with your dentist or periodontist in order to receive a comprehensive exam to determine the extent of the disease.

Nevertheless, if you do not change your dental habits plaque will continue to build along the gum line. This build-up can become a more aggressive form of gingivitis called periodontal disease. The gums, like a pocket, fit tightly around your teeth in order to hold them in place. And as you age, you may become more susceptible to other diseases that impact your overall health as well as the health of your gums.

Delta Dental of Northwest reports that today about, “sixty percent of adults sixty-five and older have lost at least six or more teeth.” This is an improvement as in the early 1900’s, individuals often had their teeth removed at age twenty-one as a right of passage and to prevent them from falling out. Still individuals today have many more opportunities to keep their natural teeth. They have the ability to visit great dentists and periodontists who can provide state-of-the-art laser technology, such as LANAP surgery for periodontal disease. Dr. Rice says, “Great oral care practices can save your teeth for a lifetime.” Begin taking care of your teeth today by calling for an appointment.

Why should I floss if all my gums do is bleed?

When flossing your teeth you may notice some bleeding. This bleeding is due to a condition called gingivitis.  It is the first stage of periodontal disease but is reversible with the right treatment. “Part of that treatment is brushing and flossing says,” Dr. Denine Rice.   Dental plaque and tarter has bacteria in it that causes irritation to the gums. If you continue to not take proper care of your teeth the bacteria will continue to build and gingivitis can quickly turn into periodontal disease. Once you have periodontal disease, this unfortunately is not reversible.

                             Although, you may feel that you are doing more damage to your gums and therefore want to discontinue flossing you are not doing more damage.  “If you continue to floss for a week and your gums continue to bleed,” Dr. Rice, one of Inland Empire’s Top Periodontists suggests you set up a visit with your dentist.

                             Your gums will not bleed once the bacteria are removed. You want to floss in order to remove food from the gums where your toothbrush cannot be reached.  Depending on how much tarter and plaque is built up will depend on what type of treatment is recommended. You may need to have root planing and scaling to help remove the plaque from your teeth. What you don’t want to do is stop flossing, instead it’s time to actually floss more.

How your teeth can affect your paycheck

It may be hard for you to believe but missing, crooked and stained teeth can impact your overall job prospects as well as upward movement in a company. Positions that encourage you to interact with people from the community require constant face-to-face contact. “An image a company generally wants to portray is one of vitality, happiness and overall success,” says Dr. Denine Rice, of Rice Periodontics and Implant Surgery.

Individuals with broken or stained teeth may communicate to the community that your company doesn’t feel your overall health is important or a priority.

First impressions are critical.  You only have seven seconds to make a first impression. The smile you convey will then impact the relationship between you and the customers. While your smile may be only of minor impact, if you are self-conscious of your smile, because of your teeth, that greatly impacts your first impression.

When you are employed and looking to move up in the company how you interview and your overall self-confidence will change how you are seen within the company. It will directly affect whether you are prompted or not.   When you have teeth that you are not happy with, your overall self-confidence may become impacted according to Dr. Rice. While it may seem small, your ability to comfortably talk and present yourself in the most favorable light could be negatively affecting how much you even earn.