Gum Disease

~ Sujin and Thomas

Gum Disease, known as periodontal disease, has been linked to many systemic disorders. It starts with the accumulation of plaque around your teeth, irritating your gum tissue. Soon this plaque hardens into calculus or tartar, which is a hard and rigid material that can only be professionally removed.

The lack of treatment can result in gum recession and ultimately bone loss. The bone is essentially what anchors your teeth in place. Over a long period of time, this source of irritation can lead to tooth loss.

In the images to the right, you can see teeth and bone. Gum tissue does not show up on x-rays. The blue lines in the second image show the bone level where they are normal and healthy. The pink lines show a clefting appearance, which indicates bone loss. The calculus, circled in green, is the cause of this problem and is the target of periodontal therapy.