Gum disease isn't curable, but it's manageable with appropriate treatment. You can't cure it because once you lose structural support around your teeth, you don't usually get all of it back. However, periodontal treatment can reduce infection and rebuild your bone and tissue to some degree.
Since the infection has yet to spread to the bone or connective tissues holding the teeth in place, it's only at this stage where periodontal disease is reversible. Periodontitis is the second stage of gum disease. Once you reach this stage, the damage done to your gum tissue is irreversible.
Only the first stage of gum disease, known as “gingivitis” can be reversed. After it progresses into the second stage (periodontitis), it's no longer possible to completely eliminate it.
Advanced stages of gum disease typically produce irreversible damage to bone and connective tissues; however, even severe gum disease can be effectively treated by slowing its progression and enhancing periodontal health.
Four stages of periodontal disease
Gingivitis: This is the only stage of the disease that is reversible as it hasn't attacked the bones yet. This is a result of plaque buildup around the teeth. Bleeding gums is one of the first symptoms you may experience.
Stage 4: Progressive Periodontitis
This stage involves teeth looseness, shifting teeth, red, swollen and painful gums, often forming an abscess. The end result — eating and even smiling is hard and painful, and you may lose most of your teeth.
In most cases, the damage will not be completely reversible, but if you follow the treatment and prevention plan laid out by your dentist, you should be able to see significant improvement. Most people are able to reclaim a 4mm to 5mm pocket depth with proper treatment and ongoing periodontal maintenance.
Periodontal disease is not a life-threatening condition.
Yes, depending on the severity of the gum disease, teeth affected by periodontal disease may be saved. Scaling, root planing, and antibiotic therapy can help reduce inflammation and slow the progress of periodontal disease. Surgery may sometimes be required to repair and restore the lost tissue and bone.
It's never too late for gum grafting as long as the patient has sufficient gum tissue to harvest for the graft. However, the success rate of the procedure may be lower in cases where the patient has advanced gum disease or other underlying health issues that can affect the healing process.
As a result, patients might experience widening pockets between the gums and teeth besides deterioration of the bone beneath. Although everyone is different advanced and untreated periodontitis eventually leads to tooth loss. Tooth loss is merely one challenge of periodontal disease.
Gum disease is an infection of the gum tissue; it isn't an infection of the teeth. Therefore, it is important to understand that removing your teeth will not actually treat or cure your gum disease. However, extractions can be an important part of your overall treatment plan to get your oral health back on track.
Periodontitis. Periodontitis is the intermediate stage of gum disease. In this stage of periodontal disease, the infection has advanced, and is no longer reversible. The bacteria in your gums will attack your gum tissue and the support structure of your teeth, causing permanent damage to your mouth.
Gum disease becomes irreversible in the second and third stages. To avoid either moderate periodontitis or advanced periodontitis, maintain good oral hygiene and visit the dentist regularly.
Gum disease is irreversible at the second and third stages, so it's good practice to take preventative measures and seek guidance at your dental checkup and teeth cleaning.
Yes. Regardless of the stage of infection, you can stop the progression of gum disease. The initial phase is the easiest to manage as it only requires maintaining proper oral care and dental checkups. Further stages will require specialized treatment such as scaling and root planing.
Bone loss to or beyond the radiographic apex of a natural tooth is considered to be hopeless by most periodontal classification schemes. Older, simple prognosis classification studies typically categorize teeth as being poor to hopeless and tooth extraction warranted when bone loss around a tooth is 50% or greater.
If you have advanced periodontitis, you may need dental surgery, such as: Flap surgery, also called pocket reduction surgery. Your periodontist makes cuts in your gums to carefully fold back the tissue. This exposes the tooth roots for more effective scaling and root planing.
Luckily, dental bone loss can be stopped in most scenarios. However, it is only in a limited set of circumstances that we can actually regenerate bone and reverse bone loss. Unfortunately, Periodontitis is the most common cause of dental bone loss and this condition cannot be reversed.
Periodontitis affects more than 47% of adults over age 30 in the U.S. That number jumps to around 70% for adults 65 years and over.
Almost half, 47.2%, of all adults aged 30 years and older have some form of gum disease. Gum disease increases with age. 70.1% of adults 65 years and older have periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease causes tooth loss if not treated early, and advanced periodontitis can lead to a decline in chewing ability, word pronunciation, and aesthetic function.
If most or all of your teeth are impacted the repair process will be much more difficult. If certain teeth are worse off than others it may mean that some of them are too far gone and some of them can be saved. Keep in mind that certain types of damage are only visible with the help of imaging or a trained eye.
5-7mm with bleeding means that there has been some gum tissue damage. In some cases, it can also be bone loss around the area. This will require more hygiene visits and special treatment along with good at home oral care. 7mm and above with bleeding is the advanced stage of periodontal disease.