What does it mean if your gums start swelling and feeling tender? Do you notice any discoloration in them? You could be suffering from periodontal disease, and a professional treatment from your Houston dentist is the best way to cure it.

Periodontal disease affects about half of all Americans, though most only ever experience mild symptoms of it.

Because the early symptoms of the disease are mild, many people may not even notice them. When this happens, and the patient does not seek treatment at all, it can develop into full blown gum disease.

Worse yet, it can eventually reach an advanced stage that can even affect your jawbone.

Periodontal Disease Treatment in Houston

There is hope for those who have periodontal disease. Houston dentists and periodontists are able to treat the disease by targeting the root cause of it: bacteria.

Bacteria collects around and under the gum line and leaves behind plaque. The plaque becomes home to many millions of bacteria, and when they start feeding on the soft tissue of your gums, it causes them to become inflamed.

This inflammation leads to discoloration, swelling, and tenderness.

Bacteria often collects inside “pockets,” which are small gaps between the gum tissue and the roots of your teeth.

It is in here that they grow exponentially and cause infections and abscesses to form.

A Houston dentist will target these pockets and the bacteria inside them using a method called scaling and root planning.

Scaling scrapes away the bacteria by removing the plaque. Root planning smoothes out the roots of the teeth, making them easier to clean so that bacteria cannot cling to these pockets as easily.

It is possible that your Memorial dentist may also prescribe some medicated mouthwash or some antibiotics to treat any lingering infections or bacteria.

Treating Periodontal Disease Early

The sooner you start treating gum disease, the easier it will be. When bacteria dig deep into your gum tissue, they become much harder to remove, and the methods to remove them become progressively more unpleasant.

The best thing to do is to see your Houston dentist twice per year for a regular checkup and make an appointment immediately when you notice signs of gum disease.

When caught soon enough, treatment of periodontal disease can be as easy as increasing your daily oral hygiene routine. But if you wait too long, it may require soft tissue and bone grafts to repair the damage.