What is “Periodontal Disease”?
Periodontal disease, also known as “gum disease”, is a long term, often painless but nevertheless serious infection of the gum tissue and supporting surfaces of bone that hold the teeth in their sockets in the jaw. If left untreated it will result in the destruction of bony support for the roots of the teeth and eventually can lead to the complete loss of the teeth altogether.
What causes Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal disease is the most common “disease” in the world! That is because it is caused by intra-oral bacterial “plaque”. Bacterial plaque is a sticky microscopic film that forms constantly in your mouth and sticks to your teeth, especially in the gum line crevice where the gum tissue attaches to the neck of the tooth. Plaque is composed of a mixture of germs, mucins from oral saliva, and often leftover food debris. If not removed on a daily basis by simple brushing (with a soft brush) and flossing procedures, it can, over time, infect the “cuff” of gum tissue around the neck of the tooth causing it to become reddened, and inflamed (a condition referred to as gingivitis which causes the gums to bleed easily). If this process continues, eventually the gums can lose their natural attachment to the necks of the teeth and pull away from them, thus deepening the depth of the crevice around the teeth between the teeth and the gum tissue. Over time, this process can worsen and, if unchecked, will slowly proceed to dissolve away the attachment of the gum and even bone of the surrounding tooth socket (periodontitis) to the point where, after years of neglect, the teeth have no bony socket attachment left and just plain “fall out”!
How do you treat Periodontal disease?
The best treatment for periodontitis is prevention; and that means proper daily oral hygiene (brushing and flossing at home) and regular professional care. Once periodontal disease has set in, professional “deep gum cleanings” are required. That means cleaning the roots of the teeth where the gums have loosened and pulled away down to the point where the gum and bone are still attached. This is time consuming, more expensive, and often difficult work, many times requiring local anesthesia.
Periodontal Care
The tragedy of periodontal disease is that:
- Once periodontal disease has started, the bone that is lost around the neck and socket of the tooth due to the disease will not grow back!
- The depth of the deepened crevice around the neck of the tooth, (which is called the “periodontal pocket”) is difficult to access with instruments for cleaning. Once the seal between the gum tissue, and socket bone, around the tooth is lost due to periodontal disease, it almost never re-attaches or re-seals either! Therefore, it requires regular visit on a semi-annual or even quarterly basis to have those pockets around the roots of the teeth professionally cleaned by specific instrumentation “under the gums”.
- That means that once periodontal disease has set in, it’s a constant “fight” to keep it from progressing, albeit slowly, to the point where teeth start to become lost. Quarterly or semi-annual deep cleanings are manditory, sometimes even in conjunction with painful “gum surgery” to slow and retard the progression of this disease! It progresses quicker in some patients more so than others due to complicated reasons. There are even dentists who specialize in treating gum diseases only. They are called “periodontists. Long term untreated gum disease can be harmful in other ways also. Due to the extremely advanced research being conducted on it by our colleaques in general medicine, Periodontal disease is now even being linked to seriously increasing the risk for contracting other major, sometimes life threatening, diseases like: heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, low birth weight babies for women, lung diseases, prostate cancer, osteoporosis, and pancreatic cancer! Dentists can treat Periodontal disease to slow it down once it sets in, but nobody has figured out yet just how to stop it completely once it starts, at least not until now! Read on and prepare yourself for a shock! Great news is ahead!
Perio ProtectTM: The Modern Medical/Dental Breakthrough In Stopping Periodontal Disease In Its Tracks!!
- According to a 2003 World Health Organization Report, over 85% of all the people in the United States suffer from some level of periodontal disease!
- Periodontal disease can cause bleeding gums, loose teeth, persistent bad breath, loss of teeth, and an unhealthy looking smile. In addition, now we know that periodontal disease can even leave you at a seriously increased level of risk for other serious and life-threatening diseases like: heart attack, stroke, diabetes osteoporosis and certain cancers!
- Traditional methods of treatment for periodontitis were difficult, expensive, painful, time consuming, inconvenient, and often exhibited a high eventual failure rate!
But now there is a new, painless, dramatically effective, easy to use, FDA cleared gingivitis /periodontitis treatment option…
The Perio Protect™ Method
- The Perio Protect TM method (FDA approved) delivers doctor prescribed, research proven, highly effective medications directly to the source of the periodontal disease right down inside or under the gum cuff or crevice (pocket) surrounding the roots of the teeth.
- The method (which is now even patented) employs the use of custom made little rubber mouth-guard-like trays, constructed by specially trained and licensed dentists. These comfortable little trays are worn over the teeth and adjacent gums a few minutes each day, in conjunction with routine brushing and flossing home care procedures.
- The patient places a small amount of the prescribed germ fighting medicines (gel) inside the rubber tray for each application. The trays fit tightly right over the teeth, (like an athletic mouth-guard). The tray then forces the medicine right down to the bottom of the gum crevice surrounding the tooth-no matter how deep!
- Extensive research has proven this simple method to be painless, easy, reliable, and extremely effective in killing the germs that cause gum disease!
- It stops the process of periodontal disease “cold in its tracks”. In some special cases Perio Protect TM method can even cause some of the lost bone that was dissolved away over time by the periodontal disease process to grow back! That has never, I repeat, never been done before!
- Dr. Terrance J. Spahl and Dr. EmmaLee J. Spahl arefully trained, licensed, and authorized to provide the PerioProtectTM method to their patients who require treatment for gingivitis (early gum disease) and periodontitis (more advanced gum disease).
- Dr. Terrance J. Spahl states, “In my opinion, The Perio ProtectTM method represents a bigger breakthrough in fighting gum disease than fluoride did for fighting cavities! It is truly a spectacular advance!”
- Modern research has shown that eliminating periodontal disease greatly reduces the risk factors for the serious and life-threatening diseases mentioned above!
