How Do I Prevent Periodontal Disease from Returning?
Oral disease can become painful and debilitating. Thankfully, it can be treated. However, good hygiene and maintenance is required to prevent oral disease from returning. Here are a few ways to stop periodontal disease in its tracks:
- Having professional scaling and polish of your teeth at least every three months. This should be customized to your needs and to that of your disease.
- Controlling medical conditions, such as diabetes, that influence periodontal disease.
- Moving through recommended treatment in a timely manner. Spreading your periodontal care out over years versus months may not allow you to achieve the best outcome.
- Maintaining excellent home care.
PERIODONTAL DISEASE & TOBACCO
You are probably familiar with the links between tobacco use and lung disease, cancer, and heart disease. Tobacco use also significantly increases your risk of periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is more severe and more resistant to treatment in smokers than those who do not use tobacco. There is a greater incidence of harmful bacteria, calculus formation on teeth, deeper pockets between gums and teeth, and a greater loss of the bone and fibers that hold teeth in your mouth. Tobacco use also masks the severity of disease, hiding symptoms. In addition, your chance of developing oral cancer increases with the use of all forms of tobacco.
Chemicals in cigarettes such as nicotine and tar also slow down healing and the predictability of success following periodontal treatment. People who smoke a pack a day are seven times more likely to have periodontal diseases. Quitting smoking and tobacco-use can have numerous benefits for your overall and periodontal health.
—Leland S.