Gum disease nothing to smile about
Oral bacteria raises risk of heart disease
and other medical problems
Alyssa Schwartz
CanWest News Service
It shouldn't take Style by Jury's resident dentist to tell you there's nothing sexy about gum disease.
Bleeding, swollen gums, chronic bad breath and even tooth loss aren't pretty - and those are the symptoms you can see.
"It's a health issue," says Dr. Armaghan Afsar, a Toronto-area Dentist whose movie-star grin has made her the go-to smile expert for TV makeover candidates and regular folk alike.
While clients come to her practice seeking tooth whitening or straightening treatments and not oral health advice, Afsar warns that people who neglect their gums may find a sexy smile to be elusive.
"If you want those pearly whites, if you want to get that Hollywood smile, we can't do it for someone who has gum disease," says the dentist, who is also a spokesperson for a new gum treatment called Periowave.
"Gums are the fibres that hold the teeth into the jaw bone, so if they're diseased, the teeth can become reduced in size and eventually the teeth can become shaky and lost. In those cases, we can't do anything other than extract the teeth. It's gone too far."
Gum disease, or periodontal disease, occurs when bacteria builds up between the teeth and gums. Aside from taking a toll on your smile, gum disease can increase your risk of a heart attack, stroke, or diabetes, boost your risk of developing pancreatic cancer and, for women, increase the odds of having a premature or low birth-weight baby.
In the most extreme cases, Afsar says, the bacteria from gum disease can cause a life-threatening blood infection.
Afsar estimates that half of her patients - a number consistent with the rate among the general population - have gum disease and many are unaware of it.
"There are no signs and symptoms of the disease until it gets very, very bad," she says.
"Once you get to the worst levels, you can see things like bleeding gums, swelling, abscesses and things like that. But most people don't realize it can go on silently for a long time."
According to Afsar, more than half of Canadian adults don't visit the dentist on a regular basis, a number she says is frightening given the amount of gum disease that goes undiagnosed.
"Your dentist would be able to detect more severe cases of gum disease before it gets to that point," she says.
And lest you think that good oral hygiene practices mean you don't need to be concerned, Afsar has some words of caution.
"Brushing and flossing can only do so much because the bristles of the toothbrush don't get under the gums. That's why seeing your dentist and having them evaluate your gums is so strongly recommended."
But if fear is keeping you out of the dentist's chair, a diagnosis of gum disease - and the prospect of painful traditional treatments, from scaling to surgery - are hardly enticement to book an appointment.
That's why Afsar is touting Periowave, a made-in-Canada technology that uses low-intensity light waves to kill the bacteria that cause gum disease. The treatment works in two stages: First, the dentist injects a dye into the gums, which identifies the infected areas. Then, a light is shone on the infected areas for a minute per tooth, killing off the bacteria.
The process is painless, Afsar says, and unlike older laser treatments, Periowave kills only harmful germs, leaving health bacteria behind. Each session takes about an hour and treatments are recommended twice a year.
"It's not a reversal process," Afsar says, adding that once the disease progresses to the point of gum loss, there's no way to grow back the tissue. "The whole point is to prevent it."
Treatments cost between $100 and $250 a session, and Afsar says while she uses it in her office only to treat existing gum disease, it can be done preventively.
"Considering that people get their hair cut every three to four months, it's not a huge amount to spend," she says.
Dr. Molly Rodgers, General Dentist - Providing services in Dentistry to the area of Edmonton Alberta, Canada.
