When you come in for a cleaning at Pinkston Dental Care one of the first things we do is Periodontal Charting. You might be wondering what this is and why we do it. Periodontal charting is a graph that shows us the health of your teeth and gums. The charting shows the doctor and hygienists conditions such as decay, cavities, missing teeth, the depths of your gum pockets, and any abnormalities to your teeth or gums. We also record information about the attachment of your teeth to the gums and any movement or bleeding in your teeth and gums. We do this to help the prevention or progression of gum disease which can cause many problems for people.
Your periodontal charting is then updated every time you come in, and we can see the progress made and we know how to better cater to your personal needs in keeping your teeth and gums as healthy as possible. If we didn’t keep track of your periodontal health patients would be at risk of developing problems such as gingivitis or periodontitis which is a condition where the gums get inflamed and pull away from the teeth causing pockets that become infected. If these problems aren’t treated it could cause the gums and tissue that support the teeth to become destroyed causing the teeth to eventually get loose and fall out or need to be removed.
People generally don’t develop gum disease until they are in their 30’s or 40’s although teenagers rarely develop periodontitis they can develop the milder form of gum disease known as gingivitis. Gum disease is most commonly developed when plaque is built up along and under the gum line.
Gum disease can occur in anyone but most commonly affects men more than women. Smoking can cause people to be more at risk, as well as people who have diabetes and other genetic inheritance for some people.
While gum disease, gingivitis, and periodontitis can’t necessarily always be avoided we can help keep you as healthy as possible by doing things like a regular 6 month cleaning, as well as brushing your teeth at least twice a day, flossing daily, and not smoking.
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov