Mount Kisco NY Dentist Shares A Quick Way To Improve Your Overall Health

A dental cleaning is one of the easiest and fastest ways to improve your overall health!

Naturally occurring bacteria in your mouth can grow rapidly.  If it gets out of control you can develop gingivitis, or inflammation of the gums.  Gingivitis can lead to gums starting to recede, and receding gums can lead to tooth sensitivity.                                

Periodontal disease is caused by a group of specific bacteria, called the Red Complex.  Again, these bacteria naturally occur in the mouth, but if the number gets out of control it can lead to the loss of bone and gums around the tooth.  As this happens the pocket, or space between your tooth and the gums gets deeper and deeper.  This allows more and more bacteria to grow.   Losing the support of your teeth can cause pain, bad breath, bleeding of gums, heart disease and loss of teeth.  In fact periodontal disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in Mount Kisco.          

There are other risk factors that can lead to periodontal disease, including genetics, the foods we eat, tooth grinding, and alcohol/tobacco use.

To treat periodontal disease, we typically recommend scaling and root planing, more commonly known as a "deep cleaning".  A traditional dental cleaning removes the bacteria and plaque above the gum line.  However, the Red Complex is found below the gum line.  When these aggressive and irritating bacteria get out of control, they need to be brought back under control.  A deep cleaning can accomplish this by going below the gum line and removing the bacteria and any hardened plaque called calculus.  By making a smooth surface along the root of the tooth, and decreasing the amount of bacteria, the gums can "shrink" back around the tooth and decrease the size of those pockets. We will do this all while keeping you very comfortable during the procedure.

Decreasing bacteria, decreases inflammation.  Inflammation causes the release of C-Reactive Proteins in your blood stream.  C-Reactive Proteins circulate throughout our body in response to inflammation.

Periodontal disease is essentially a giant bacterial infection in your mouth, so your body releases more of these harmful proteins, and this causes your immune system to be alert all the time.  This is very unhealthy for your body, as studies have shown that the more inflammation the body thinks there is, the more susceptible you are to diabetes, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, low birth weight babies, alzheimer's disease and cancer.  The longer you go between dental cleanings, the more bacteria grows, and the more likely you are to need a deep cleaning.

So when was your last dental cleaning?

Give your Mount Kisco NY dentist a call to make an appointment

(914) 241-2242

www.WestchesterTopDentist.com