Receding Gums Fixed With Periodontal Procedures
Not even the most beautiful teeth can look attractive if healthy and pleasing-looking gums do not surround them. That's because the gums frame the teeth like a picture frame frames a picture. To have a pleasing smile, the shape, color, and texture of the gums are just as important as that of the teeth they frame. Although tooth development, periodontal disease, trauma, or tooth loss can create esthetic gum deformities like receding gums, modern periodontal procedures can give individuals a smile to smile about.
Common Cosmetic Gum Problems
Unhealthy Gums
As a result of periodontal disease, a person may have red, shiny, or swollen gums. If an individual has gingivitis or periodontitis, the gums have to be periodontally treated prior to cosmetic dental procedures.
"Gummy Smile"
Teeth that appear too short may be normal-sized teeth hiding under too much gum. This can be the result of normal tooth development, or the use of certain medications that may cause gums to overgrow. Either way, a crown lengthening (see article "Crown Lengthening") procedure can help reveal the normal tooth structure.
Recession
If the teeth appear to be too long or if the root surfaces are exposed, it may be due to receding gums (see article "Recession"). Soft tissue grafting (see article "Soft Tissue Grafts") is very successful in correcting this problem.
Uneven Gum Margins
If the gum margins appear to be higher on some teeth and lower on others, this may be due to receding gums, altered eruption, or gum defects that resulted from tooth loss. The treatment of uneven gum margins may require crown lengthening, soft tissue grafting, ridge augmentation or a combination of these procedures.
Gum Indentations
After a tooth is lost, the bone that encased it disintegrates and the gum around it may collapse, creating an indentation where the tooth used to be. Ridge augmentation procedures can help correct this problem.
Uneven Pigmentation
Changes in the color of the gums may be part of normal gum development, or the result of scarring. Soft tissue grafts can predictably correct this problem.
Spaces In Between the Teeth
Periodontal disease can result in spaces in between the teeth that may appear like black triangles. These spaces can be very difficult to treat. They can be made less unattractive by a combination of procedures that include orthodontics (braces), crowns (caps), and/or periodontal (gum) surgery. The best way to avoid these spaces is to seek periodontal treatment in its early stages.
Missing Teeth
One or more missing teeth can be predictably replaced with the aid of dental implants. Dental implants can look and feel like natural teeth.
Changes in the appearance of the gums like receding gums can occur as a result of normal tooth development, periodontal disease, trauma, or tooth loss. By working with a restorative dentist who has expertise in cosmetic dentistry and through the aid of modern periodontal techniques, individuals can design a smile that is both aesthetic and youthful in appearance.
By Laura Minsk, DMD
Gum Disease and Early Diabetes Detection
In many cases it's the dentist - and not the physician - who has the first opportunity to detect diabetes early, because diabetics are especially prone to dental health problems.
Swollen, tender, receding and bleeding gums, loose teeth, and a sore tongue may not just be signs of poor dental hygiene. They may be danger signals for diabetes, too.
If you have any of these symptoms, you may be one of the estimated 11 million people in North America who already have diabetes, or you may be one of the 600,000 who will be diagnosed this year.
Diabetes occurs when a gland called the pancreas fails to produce sufficient amounts of the hormone, insulin, to regulate blood sugar levels. In other words: Diabetics have too little insulin and too much sugar in their blood.
When this happens, the body tissue can't convert the sugar it needs into energy. The blood stream then fills with this unused sugar and the result is diabetes - a disease medical journals often describe as the "forever" disease.
A serious illness which respects neither age, sex, race nor income level, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people 20 to 65 years old and can lead to kidney failure, heart attacks and even death.
But outside the dental community, few people realize that diabetics have more than their share of tooth and periodontal (gum) problems. This fact is especially true for undiagnosed diabetics or those who have failed to control their disease adequately with insulin and/or diet and exercise.
Periodontal disease among diabetics progresses rapidly, recurs frequently, and heals slowly. The resistance to treatment can lead to loosened teeth and premature tooth loss.
Your regular dental office visits provide the best chance for early detection of many health problems, including diabetes. If you have a diabetic tendency, your dentist may very well refer you to your physician - another good reason to keep your prescribed dental recall and dental cleaning appointments faithfully!
If you are diabetic, it's important that you keep your dental health history up-to-date, exercise regularly, and eat a diet that provides good nutrition:
- Have regular meals and snack times. Don't skip meals.
- Avoid sweets (cake, candy, pie, ice cream).
- Limit use of animal fats and trim fat off meats. Avoid butter, cream, egg yolks.
- Bake and broil rather than fry foods.
- Don't use alcohol, wine, or beer without your doctor's permission.
- See your dentist regularly so small dental problems can be taken care of with a local anesthetic.
Teeth don't heal themselves, so small problems turn into big ones if left untreated. Major oral surgery requires a general anesthetic which means "no food prior to surgery" - a problem for diabetics.
+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.