KOCHI: Raghu is an entrepreneur and is known among the top business circles. But when asked for an interview or called for a marriage function, he shies away from the cameras. Even on the day of his son’s wedding, he never smiled and avoided laughter.The dark spaces between the teeth and too long teeth were the reasons for this. Even when he had achieved his long-cherished goals in life he could not express his joy because his teeth were in bad shape. Taking out of teeth and replacing teeth with dentures was a nightmare for this old college macho. Periodontal (gum) diseases are one of the major reasons for the loss of teeth. The permanent teeth are there to stay for a whole lifetime. Just like your eyes or ears, the teeth are also part of your body and have to serve you for the entire life. The first sign of gum disease is gum bleeding while brushing teeth. If this happens, you need to go to the dentist to get your teeth cleaned. If your gum still bleeds, you need the help of a periodontist who does a deep cleaning and root planing where in the deeper debris and calculus can be removed effectively.The other visible difference is redness and soreness of gums. There will be gum recession where in the teeth start looking longer and dark triangular spaces start appearing between teeth. If this progresses, the teeth will start shaking and will ultimately fall off. Irregularly placed teeth increases the chances of gum problems as they are difficult to clean.Improper contact of the upper and lower teeth and food impaction sites also can cause gum problems. These should be corrected immediately. Loss of teeth should be replaced as early as possible so as to reduce the work load of the existing teeth.Prevention Dental check up with a good dentist every six months. Removal of calculus and debris as the interval suggested by the expert.Use of soft brush and fluoridated toothpaste to brush after breakfast and dinner.If the gums bleed, get a check-up done with a periodontist.Any tooth which feels shaky should be saved as early as possible because any artificial teeth as replacement will be inferior to your natural teeth.Preserve all your teeth until you leave this life’s journey.Keep away from tobacco products as these can prevent you from getting signs of disease and there will be faster progression of the disease.Keep diabetes in control. Aged women should consult an endocrinologist to check osteoporosis and take advice.Other risksPeriodontal disease can be a source of infection in your blood stream which can lead to many other systematic problems. Jaw joint pains can occur if there are periodontal problems and if you are chewing only on one side.TreatmentEven if the gum problems worsen and the teeth start shaking, you can save them using the latest technologies available and make them look beautiful and will be able to chew with them. If bone loss is present between teeth these can be corrected with allogenous bone grafts. Loss of teeth in old age is not unavoidable, if the teeth are taken good care of. Live long and smile along.
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