The Truth about Swollen Gums

Recently I've had a wave of new patients presenting with a complaint of swollen gums...these patients are terrified that they might be losing their teeth...perhaps they have heard of friends or family members having swollen gums that turned out to an abscess or a localized infection...and maybe those cases turned into a root canal or an extraction...but the swollen gums I'm seeing these days are nothing more than mouths requiring a little bit of TLC..and that's all there usually is to it...perhaps a good old debridement or a more specialized deeper cleaning is all that is needed and these situations usually respond very well to treatment.  Swollen gums are usually not the end of the world but if this is a repeated complaint over several or many years and you haven't visited the dental office in a while, it might be a good time to go in for a checkup...just a thought.

Center for Periodontics & Implant Dentistry
www.cpi-dent.com   (847) 818-9950

The Truth about Brushing

I think we all know people who don't brush their teeth after every meal...I'm pretty sure we know people that brush only morning and night, which could very well be the majority of us...and then there are people who brush only once a day, likely in the morning when they first get up...and yet there is a big disparity between gum disease rates in each of these three groups...of course there are usually a number of compounding factors related to gum disease progression, but within these three groups, I have seen a great deal of variation over time...for example, my parents brush there teeth only once a day and yet in their 60's, they have great bone levels and minimal gum problems for their age...then I have patients who brush their teeth 4-5+ times a day and yet they have calculus/tartar build-up growing on their teeth at the speed of weed growth on the front lawn.  To this day, I never point the finger and say to patients that they aren't doing enough to get their gum disease under control.  Many factors play a role in gum disease and all we can ever ask of our patients is to continue their efforts and do their best...and at the end of the day, frequent brushing may still lead to progressing gum problems and infrequent/daily brushing may not create the problems that others encounter...just my two cents and not a penny more.

Center for Periodontics & Implant Dentistry
www.cpi-dent.com   (847) 818-9950

The Truth about a Dental Bridge vs. a Dental Implant

I think sometimes a dental bridge is a more appropriate treatment option than a dental implant...yes, I just said what you think I just said.  As a specialist who places implants almost as frequent as treating periodontal disease, there are instances when a bridge may be the better option.  If you're 75 or 80 years old, I have a hard time recommending a dental implant, especially if there are other compounding factors ie. medical history, medications, invasiveness of the procedure, at hand.  Case in point, your upper first molar has to come out, the surrounding bone is broken down and the sinus is encapsulating the roots and there is a very high chance of a sinus opening during the procedure.  You have minor health issues popping up on a routine basis, you are a borderline controlled/at times poorly controlled diabetic, you take about 12-18 different medications which you don't even recall the names of, your blood pressure runs high from time to time, and you form sweat droplets on the brim of your eyebrows just thinking about the inconvenience of dental procedures.  To close off the sinus after tooth extraction and then rebuild the bone in this area may not be in the best interests of certain patients and a bridge may be a more attractive option.  Not everyone wants to go through the motions of dealing with surgery and the possible complications that may arise from the procedures we do.  Lets say a tooth is failing due to periodontal disease and its on its way out...placing a dental implant in a mouth with periodontal issues doesn't always seem like a great fit.  What's to say that the implant will not experience the same problems caused by the same bacteria inside of your mouth.  Sure a dental implant cannot decay but they are not impervious to bone loss.  Sometimes we are just trading one set of problems for another. And despite what I just said, we accommodate the patients preference when we know deep down inside that there is a possibility that the dental implant may not be the impermanent restoration that we believe them to be.  You're missing a tooth for the last 10 years and the bone is non-existent for implant placement.  I am perfectly fine with a patient picking a dental bridge over trying to reconstruct the bone for a future implant.  At the end of the day, a dental chair represents stress and inconvenience for our patients...and no matter how hard we try as a periodontal office to create the best environment for our patients and despite getting good to great surgical results with minimal post-op complications and downtime for the patient, the thought of surgery may seem like the least appetizing option...even though dental implants may be the better long-term option over a dental bridge, I understand if the patient chooses the latter...

Center for Periodontics & Implant Dentistry
www.cpi-dent.com   (847) 818-9950

The Truth about Loose Teeth

I have seen my fair share of loose teeth at this point in my career and it never ceases to amaze me that, depending on the extent of tooth mobility, loose teeth do in fact last.  As to how long, no one ever knows for sure - our ability to prognosticate is just as good as flipping a coin and calling out heads or tails. Of course teeth that are floating around like wind chimes may not have the greatest prognosis and in most cases should be taken out. . But I have given many loose teeth the benefit of the doubt and they seem to hang around year after year.  Sometimes we recommend conservative laser therapy to regenerate some of the structure that holds the teeth in place. Sometimes we recommended adding growth factors and bone to improve the surrounding environment for the teeth.  Sometimes we maintain loose teeth with more frequent teeth cleanings.  Sometimes we recommended splinting or fixating the teeth in place, just like a white picket fence.  Regardless of the options that are chosen, I still believe in saving teeth.   Dental Implants, as an alternative, may not be the holy grail of tooth permanence that we once thought they were.  Implants have their own set of problems and at the end of the day, they still aren't teeth like we would want them to be.  Just my two cents and not a penny more...  

Center for Periodontics & Implant Dentistry
www.cpi-dent.com   (847) 818-9950