Author: <span>John Calderon</span>

Valentine’s Day Special: The Connection Between Gum Disease and Other Illnesses

Candy hearts – the tried and true method of demonstrating your affection for someone on Valentine’s Day. As the years have gone by, the phrases may have been updated to fit modern slang, but the message remains the same: “I like you!”

If the elements that make up your body could give candy hearts to one another on Valentine’s Day, would they? One thing’s for sure, if you’re keeping up to date on your oral health and treatment of gum disease, your mouth is sure to have a full box of love notes on the big day. Why? Because of the connection between gum disease and other illnesses.

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Laser Dental Treatment FAQs: Come Prepared to Your Dental Appointment

We’ve talked to you at length about the importance of getting your gum disease treated – not only to save your smile but also because of the very real consequences leaving it unchecked can have on your total health.

After education comes the decision-making time – how will you address gum disease? If you’ve seen a doctor and been diagnosed, you know that “doing nothing” is not going to make the problem resolve itself. You have a handful of options with regards to surgery, but more and more patients are opting for laser gum disease treatment because of its minimally invasive nature. Laser gum disease treatment is an alternative to painful methods that may require extensive pain management and downtime.

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Are Gum Disease and Stroke Related? Exploring the Evidence

Having a stroke is something that is terrifying in theory, yet may feel a long ways off if you are under a certain age. The fact, though, is that it isn’t just the elderly that are susceptible to the potentially life-threatening dangers of strokes.

Similarly, gum disease isn’t something that many people — of any age — seem to spend much time worrying about. Because of its relatively mild symptoms and lack of pain, people tend to shrug off the diagnosis as unimportant. However, untreated gum disease can lead to bleeding and sore gums, bad breath and even lost teeth. There is also evidence that the bacteria in gum disease may be related to other systemic health problems.

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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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Breaking Down the Various Forms of Gum Disease

Most people just don’t know much about gum disease — hence the creation of this very website.  In addition to knowing the signs and symptoms of gum disease, it’s important to understand that gum disease has different degrees of severity, and proper treatment depends on which stage of gum disease is present.

Recently, the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) released an updated set of classifications for periodontitis (aka, gum disease). These new classifications are meant to help clinicians explain treatment plans to patients and then identify treatments appropriate at each level. The report comes as a result of the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions, and is the first update to the classifications in almost 20 years!

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What’s in a Treatment? The Differences Between Laser Treatments for Gum Disease

Picture it: You’re settling into your dentist’s chair for an appointment. It’s probably been too long since your last visit. After the hygienist and doctor work on you, you get the news: you have advanced gum disease. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill gingivitis; it’s been slowly destroying the bone around your teeth and you’re going to have to have surgery to correct it before it wreaks havoc on your mouth and the rest of your health, as well.

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One Patient’s Journey: An Interview with Tonya About Gum Disease

Tonya had been battling with gum disease all of her adult life. Instead of getting expensive dental implants, she chose to have it treated with the LANAP protocol after hearing about it from her friend. We chatted with her about her experiences with gum disease, why she chose to get treatment and what life is like after the procedure.

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Gum Disease Awareness Month: 3 Reasons Why You Should Care

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