Gingivitis is a gum disease that may result in tooth loss, especially when you don’t get it treated. While this may sound like something that is both scary and complex, the underlying reason for this happening is actually quite simple (albeit scary) in nature.

How Gum Disease Causes Tooth Loss

Before you can understand why gum disease oftentimes results in tooth loss, you must understand what gum disease is. Basically, this is the inflammation of your gums that’s caused by bacteria.

This bacteria is found in plaque – what forms when your saliva mixes with leftover food particles that are found in your mouth. Typically, this happens when you don’t practice a good, healthy oral hygiene plan daily, meaning you don’t floss and brush twice per day.

Once the bacteria is in your mouth, your gums will start to separate from your teeth. Now the plaque has a place to hide in between your teeth. When this happens under your gum line and is left unchecked, your gums will eventually start separating from your teeth. It’s important to make sure you get us to treat this issue right away, so it doesn’t progress and get worse.

Helping Save Your Teeth

We treat gum disease by scaling your gums. This means scraping the plaque off of your teeth and out of the pockets that exist there. Doing so helps stop what’s irritating your gums, causing them to become inflamed. While this will help keep your teeth from becoming loose and falling out of your mouth, it’s not enough if you’re not willing to make some changes and improve your oral health hygiene routine.

If you still have some questions about tooth loss that’s caused by gum disease, make sure you set up an appointment with us so we can answer them for you today.