Month: <span>February 2019</span>

What is Gum Disease Awareness Month? The Goals Behind the Movement

Gum Disease Awareness Month started as a grassroots movement. Recognizing the epidemic-level problem of untreated gum disease in the United States, the Institute for Advanced Laser Dentistry (IALD) launched a campaign in 2012 to educate the public about the prevalence and the consequences of untreated gum disease.

Today, Gum Disease Awareness (or GDA for short) Month is recognized in all 50 U.S. states, as well as the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands, supported by clinicians whose aim is to improve their patients’ understanding of the disease. If you’ve ever wondered “why” Gum Disease Awareness is important enough to deserve its own month, here are the main goals behind the movement.

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A Valentine for Your Actual Heart: Treating Gum Disease for Heart Health

It’s Valentine’s season again, which means proclamations of love, pictures of Cupid and chocolates are everywhere. Whether you find the Valentine’s Day sentiments romantic or annoying, you can use those candy hearts as a reminder to take care of your actual heart’s health.

Research has led to a perceived connection between gum disease and heart health. Your body’s inflammatory response to gum disease may cause hardened gum disease and hardened arteries, which is a primary symptom of heart disease. It’s theorized that bacteria from the mouth may also enter the bloodstream due to the inflammation, wreaking havoc on other parts of the body, including the heart.

This research, as well as the fact that those with gum disease are twice as likely to have heart disease, has made dental professionals sit up and take notice of the connection — both for their patients and themselves.

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Own It! 4 Steps to Being Part of the Solution for Gum Disease

As a general dentist, I’m the first line of defense for periodontal (gum) disease. When patients come in, one of the first things we do is check to make sure their gums are healthy. When I diagnose a patient with periodontal disease, my goal is for them to understand the disease and then “own it”. We have to work together to keep it from moving to advanced stages.

Gum disease is personal for me. It has impacted my family – even since I’ve become a dentist my dad and grandfather have lost teeth to gum disease. Every day I try to find a solution for gum disease so my patients don’t have to experience the same thing.

Most of my patients don’t realize they have gum disease. Either they haven’t had a periodontal probing, or they don’t know what the numbers mean. And when patients don’t know what the numbers mean, they can’t help fight gum disease.  This is why it’s so important for dentists to educate patients about gum disease – and for patients to ask questions and learn more.

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