Gum Disease-LANAP Laser Surgery

Gum disease, or Periodontal disease affects over 80% of all adults!

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The disease starts mostly when a layer called Plaque, accumulates on the teeth. When plaque is not promptly removed, calcium from saliva hardens on to the plaque to form - Tartar or Calculus. These are barnacles-like projections that form on the surfaces of teeth and roots and act as Coral Reefs, only in this case, a safe harbor for certain types of germs. Your body naturally tries to fight off these invaders with an inflammatory attack, sending white blood cells to the area to destroy the bacteria.  It is this inflammation that causes the gum tissue to bleed easily when you brush or floss. There is some evidence that this inflammation adds to the inflammatory burden in your body resulting in a possible increase in other systemic diseases such as Strokes, Heart Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis etc.  Once the body starts to fight off this infection, there is an unfortunate “friendly fire” type damage that occurs to the supporting structure of your teeth, the periodontium. This friendly fire then causes damage to the supporting structures leading to symptoms such as:
 

• Gums that are red, swollen and bleed easily.

• Gums that seem to have pulled away from the teeth.

• Bad breath or halitosis.

• Pus between your teeth and gums

• Teeth that seem to be loose or moving away from one another.

• Change in the way your teeth fit together.

 

Usually the disease progresses slowly and symptoms show up gradually over time. For the most part, it is silent. This causes most people to not worry about their problems, because its human nature to not worry about things until it starts to hurt.

So everything seems fine until the day you have, what we call a “Gum Attack” , you know like a “Heart Attack”.                                                  

  

As with most things, it is easiest to manage a problem in the earlier stages. Gum disease is graded like Cancer.  We think of Stage 1 or 2 being the mild or less severe form of Gum disease, where, only relatively few teeth are affected,  whereas in Stage 3 and 4, almost all teeth are affected with varying levels of severity. Of the three options that are available to treat Stage 3 and 4 type of Gum disease,  the LANAP protocol is the most conservative and effective alternative to Osseous Gum Surgery.

 

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