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Gum Disease and Plaque
A widely held belief is that the bacteria that live in the plaque that form on your teeth and near or under your gums is responsible for creating the condition of gum disease. This plaque isconstantly forming and must constantly be removed or it will accumulate to the detriment of our gums and teeth.Gum disease is for all practical purposes a chronic disease. The body has defenses that may beable to slow the progression of gum disease andloss of gum tissue, but in most cases thosedefenses don't seem to be enough to eradicate progression completely. Dentists and Periodontistshave specialized surgical and nonsurgical treatments to help, but in about twenty percent of the population, these treatments will do little to change the long term health of the gums. (Reference:Clin Microbiol Rev. 2001 October; 14(4): 727-752. doi: 10.1128/CMR.14.4.727-752.2001. -....current standard of care, i.e., the debridement and surgical approach, fails in about 15 to 20%of treated individuals, the so-called refractory patients.)The bacteria that form, live and grow in plaque have to be removed. When certain species of these bacteria grow into large numbers, gingivitis and then gum disease set in. Gingivitis ismerely the very beginning stage of gum disease.Unfortunately, society has accepted the concept of the slowly receding gum line. This acceptanceis evident in the phrase, "growing long in the tooth", that is occasionally heard even in moderntimes. For those who wish to maintain a youthful appearance, receding gum tissue is one more battlefront in that particular war.Gum disease is a serious condition, it can lead to tooth loss. However, an increasing number of studies are pointing to the contribution of gum disease to cardiovascular problems. If gumdisease is indeed caused by the bacteria in plaque then everyone should be concerned. Plaque isconstantly accumulating on everyone's teeth. There is no person that doesn't accumulate plaqueon his teeth and near his gums.What this means is that virtually all of us are susceptible to gum disease. I've read that about 2%of the population appears to be immune to gum disease. Sadly, the rest of us don't share the genesthat may have caused such a superior situation.This may indicate that 98% of us need to be concerned about this potential killer if not for thesake of preventing the loss of our teeth then perhaps for the sake of reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. I would prefer to keep my own teeth and not have to hassle with denturesor implants. Neither absolve you of taking care of your gumsanyway. You would still have tocontinue to maintain their health.Statistics speak of gum disease occurring prevalently in individuals over 35 years of age.However, consider that if gum disease is a chronically progressing problem, then it must begin ata much younger age. It's just that the results are not obvious until the receded gum lines becomesmore noticeable.
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