Gum Disease

Gum disease (or stage II periodontitis) is the chronic inflammation of gum tissue combined with tartar formations, reduced bone level, and gum tissue loss.

At stage II periodontitis, dental tartar is always present around and below the gum tooth margin. 

Housed is the tartar are destructive bacteria that excrete toxins that destroy gum and bone tissue.

Untreated gum disease will very likely lead to stage III periodontitis.

At this level of periodontal disease, you may experience or more of the following symptoms:

Bad breath that won’t go away (halitosis)
Gums bleed during flossing and brushing
Pus coming from gum line
Increase in canker sore activity
Receding gums
Red, swollen gums
Periodontal probing is greater than 3 mm

The presence of tartar is the key factor in the development of periodontal diseases.  Removal of tartar is the key factor in the treatment of periodontal diseases.

Your dentist may indicate a deep cleaning procedure for you to scrape the tartar away.  For deeper pockets, you may be referred to a periodontist for root planing and scaling, which are similar to deep cleaning but include surgically peeling back gums for better access to the tartar.

Periogen® is an alternative to scraping tartar.  Periogen dissolves tartar formations with daily use in weeks.  Continued occasional use keeps new tartar from forming.