At Kansas City Smiles we stay informed of the latest scientific research available in the field of dentistry. We now know that if you have an unhealthy mouth you are at risk for developing serious systemic illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pre-term labor, as well as auto-immune and inflammatory diseases. To learn more visit our Complete Health Dentistry page. If you already have a systemic illness and – on top of that – your mouth is unhealthy, it puts you at a higher risk of dying and developing crippling disabilities associated with your illness. Improving the health of your mouth can reduce your risk for future illness, reduce the negative impact your current illness is having on your body, can reduce the amount of medication you need, and in some cases can actually reverse your illness entirely.
How To Tell If Your Gums Are Unhealthy
A simple test is to vigorously floss between all of your teeth. Is there any blood on the floss? If so, you have gingivitis at least, and possibly more progressive gum disease. Healthy gums do not bleed when you clean your teeth with brushing or flossing. If your teeth and gums bleed when you brush and floss, you are at risk for serious illness.
Kansas City Smiles can help you reverse your risk and get your mouth healthy. Traditional dental offices do attempt to correct gum disease with processes that involve bloody, painful scraping of your teeth and roots. Kansas City Smiles has much better treatment options. We help our patients avoid deep, painful cleanings and gum surgery with our conservative custom treatments for unhealthy gums. If the inflammation has advanced with measurable bone loss, a proactive approach halting the destruction should be strongly considered. Often we will suggest gentle numbing of your gums for your comfort during the deeper cleaning process. One area at a time undergoes meticulous cleaning above and below the gum line, usually over several visits. The infected collar or pocket around each tooth, including the mineralized tartar, must be carefully cleaned out with hand and ultrasonic instruments.
If you have been told you need a deep cleaning or gum surgery, we recommend you schedule a consultation with us at Kansas City Smiles & Co.
Fighting Gum Disease With Perio Protect and Specialized Dental Lasers
At Kansas City Smiles, we offer leading-edge conservative periodontal treatments like Perio Protect trays to improve the health of your gums. We make these specialized Perio Protect trays that fit over your teeth and deliver oxygen to the deep gum pockets around your teeth. It is in these deep pockets that the harmful bacteria live and cause a chronic infection in your mouth.
The presence of these bacteria causes your body to launch an inflammatory response targeted at the infection in your gums. The effects of this inflammatory response are widespread throughout your body.
Scientific research shows that this inflammation is harmful to your whole system and puts you at risk for serious illness. With Perio Protect trays, and other Kansas City Smiles periodontal treatments, we destroy the bacteria causing the inflammatory response, which promotes a healing environment where the body is allowed to heal itself.
Laser dentistry is the use of lasers to treat a number of different dental conditions. It became commercially used in clinical dental practice for procedures involving tooth tissue in 1989. Laser dentistry potentially offers a more comfortable treatment option for a number of dental procedures involving hard or soft tissue compared to drills and other non-laser tools.
Laser dentistry is used in a variety of procedures, including:
- treating hypersensitivity
- treating gum disease
- whitening teeth
- treating cold sores