What is periodontal disease?
Periodontal disease, also called advanced gum disease and periodontitis, is a bacterial infection of the gum pockets that undermines the health of the mouth and whole body.
The bacteria colonize along and under the gum line and eat (yes eat) living tissue, including gum tissue, bone and ligament that anchor the teeth in the jaws.
From within these deepening, infected gum pockets, the bacteria colonize and launch an organized attack on the immune system. Not only do the disease causing bacteria eat away at the gum and bone that hold the teeth in the mouth, these bad bugs also swim their way into the bloodstream and undermine the health of the whole body!
So that’s the bad news. The good news is even if you have periodontal disease, you can make massive positive change in your oral health and stop the progression of gum disease, all from the comfort of your own home.
Signs of periodontal disease…
Periodontal disease is a slow, silent disease often starting early in a person’s life. It’s a sad fact that 65% of 15 year olds have active gum disease. Gum disease starts quietly. One reason why so many people have gum disease is due to how silently and painlessly the bacteria do their dirty work.
This stealthy infection creeps its way into the lives of 9 out of 10 adults! Because the disease builds so slowly, many people don’t even know they have it until the disease reaches the advanced stage of periodontal disease.
How periodontal disease progresses
- gums become red, swollen, irritated and sensitive in spots
- a little bleeding with flossing or brushing (often overlooked as simply cleaning too hard)
- persistent bad breath develops
- gums pull away from teeth
- gum recession develops – teeth ‘look longer’ due to gums receding
- teeth become loose or shift around in mouth
- pus in deep infected pockets.
- teeth fall out one at a time
Dangers of periodontal disease
Unfortunately, the damage of gum disease doesn’t stop in the mouth. In as little as 9 days, the bacteria can irritate the gums enough to cause the skin of the gum to slough off in spots. This is gingivitis and it is demonstrated by gums bleeding during brushing or flossing.
Once the skin has left the gum tissue, the disease causing bacteria have access to tiny blood vessels called capillaries. The bacteria swim into these exposed blood vessels and begin to attack the rest of the body. Scientific research has proven that the same disease causing bacteria that cause gum disease are also found in hardened arterial walls of someone who has coronary heart disease.
How periodontal disease undermines the health of the whole body
Science has made a clear link between periodontal disease and an increased risk of many other diseases including:
- heart disease
The connection between gum disease and these other major diseases in our society has become clear in recent years. Periodontal disease causes chronic systemic inflammation which directly increases the risk factors of other systemic inflammatory diseases.
Research has also shown that if we reduce the periodontal disease, the risk factors of the major diseases reduce too! Truly, the mouth is the gateway into the rest of the body. When we improve the health of our mouths, we improve the health of our bodies too.
What causes periodontal disease?
While many factors impact periodontal disease, we have found it best to address this question from two perspectives.
From an ‘in the mouth’ perspective:
Periodontal disease is caused by an imbalance in the oral microbiome, what we call the ‘oral flora’.
Disease causing pathogenic bacteria dominate the mouths of people with periodontal disease. We call these pathogenic microbes ‘bad bugs’ to differentiate them from the beneficial bacteria that help support our health. Science has identified many strains of bad bugs that play a part in creating periodontal disease.
From a ‘whole body immune’ approach:
The other perspective we can take to view what causes periodontal disease is what we call a ‘whole body immune’ approach.
You see, although the disease causing bacteria do cause the damage of gum disease, they can only flourish in a body that isn’t functioning at peak immunity. Therefore, we can make great progress to make our mouths less welcoming to the bad bugs that cause periodontal disease by raising our ‘immune response’ to this chronic bacterial infection.
How to stop the progression of periodontal disease
Let’s address how to prevent periodontal disease from the same two perspectives.
Stop periodontal disease via strategies applied in the mouth:
First, we must balance the oral flora in our mouths. To stop the bad bugs from running the show in our mouths, we must:
- Commit to regular oral hygiene including twice daily brushing and daily flossing
- Use an oral hygiene product that is formulated to maintain a healthy microbial balance in the mouth.
The OraWellness HealThy Mouth Blend does a fantastic job helping to restore the mouth to health by supporting a healthier balance in our oral flora.
Stop periodontal disease via strategies to support whole body immune response:
Here is the list of factors that contribute to a lower immunity. If you would like to explore how to navigate these whole body factors, check out the OraWellness HealThy Mouth System.
- chronic stress
- poor sleep habits
- excessive alcohol consumption
- cigarette smoking/tobacco use
- poor nutrition
- hormonal changes (puberty, pregnancy, menopause)
- quantity and quality of health-giving exercise
We will explore each of these subjects in further detail at a later time. For now, you can rest assured that you can stop the damage the bad bugs cause in the mouth by improving your oral hygiene technique and by switching to an oral hygiene product that helps balance the oral flora without any harsh chemicals or toxins.
You still have time even if…
- You have bleeding gums.
- You have chronic bad breath from infected gum pockets.
- You have receding gums.
- You have loose teeth.
- And yes, even if you have already lost teeth to periodontal disease.
If you have already been diagnosed with periodontal disease or have signs that tend to occur in the more advanced stages of gum disease including receding gums, chronic bad breath, loose teeth or pussing infection along the gum line, do yourself a favor and read Susan’s story how she stopped advanced periodontal disease from the comfort of her own home!
- You can take control of your oral health!
- You can save thousands of dollars and avoid painful dental surgery!
- You can care for your own oral health in the comfort of your own home!
If you already have periodontal disease here are your options.
- Do nothing and suffer the consequences
- Do the same thing you have been doing and suffer the consequences
- Go the surgical route (even though research suggests that having periodontal surgery may actually speed up tooth loss!) Many of our customers have been told to schedule their dental surgery and have chosen to postpone the surgery for a couple months and try the HealThy Mouth System! Many have avoided surgery all together! With our 365 day money back guarantee, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
- Commit to take control of your oral health. We can help you. The OraWellness HealThy Mouth System is designed specifically to help people like you with periodontal disease to recover in the comfort of your own home, saving you thousands of dollars in painful dental procedures.
You have nothing to lose.
We offer a 365-day money back guarantee on your purchase!
For the cost of less than one dental visit, you can be empowered with the tools, techniques, and coaching necessary to effectively address, mange and potentially even stop advanced periodontal disease.
Feel free to download our FREE Guide to Safe Dentistry, which explains what questions to ask to find a dental team who will work with you on your journey to greater oral health.
Learn more about how the OraWellness HealThy Mouth System is uniquely designed to provide you the tools, education and feedback to make massive positive changes in your oral health.