Living with a confident, beautiful smile is a common goal among patients who dislike the stains, chips, gaps, and cracks that plague their teeth. Unfortunately, if these imperfections overlap with poor gum health, these unsightly blemishes must remain in place until gum disease treatment can be provided. Keep reading to learn why taking proper care of your soft oral tissues should take priority over any cosmetic service you want to pursue.
What is Gum Disease?
Gum disease is an infection that forms in the soft oral tissues surrounding your teeth. As bacteria form, they attack the gums, causing bleeding, swelling, and tenderness to occur. Over time, if left untreated, the infection can spread toward the bone, creating gum pockets (when teeth pull away) along the way.
While the initial stage – gingivitis – can be reversed with regular cleanings and good oral hygiene at home, advanced stages of gum disease – periodontitis – can cause bone and tooth loss.
How Can Gum Disease Impact Your Smile?
Some of the most common symptoms that occur among patients dealing with gum disease are loose teeth, inflamed tissues, gum recession (teeth appearing longer than before), bite misalignment, and redness.
These issues can harm the function and appearance of your smile, making it difficult and even impossible to administer any kind of cosmetic care beforehand.
If gum disease is allowed to progress, you can suffer:
- Enamel erosion
- Jaw pain
- Tooth and bone loss
- Bad breath
- Receding gumline
All of these issues can negatively affect your oral health and put you at risk of developing more serious health-related issues. It’s not just your smile that is affected, but also your body.
Why Must Gum Disease Be Addressed Before Cosmetic Treatment?
Failing to treat gum disease and its effects before moving forward with cosmetic care can cause you to spend more time and money trying to fix your smile.
Recessed, weakened teeth and gums are unlikely to support custom veneers, all-ceramic dental restorations, or even orthodontic treatment, as these require pearly whites to be healthy.
A few examples of how gum disease can affect cosmetic treatment include:
- Gum Recession: If you receive custom veneers before treating your gum disease, the space between your restoration and natural gumline will begin to show as they recede.
- Loose Teeth: Attempting to apply any kind of cosmetic treatment to loose teeth will fail, as they must be strong to support braces, veneers, crowns, or cosmetic dental bonding.
- Enamel Erosion: If gum disease causes a change to your bite, the wear and tear can cause increased sensitivity, which can make teeth whitening, crowns, or veneers uncomfortable.
Pursuing gum disease treatment (i.e., scaling and root planing, antibiotic therapy, etc.) will give your teeth and gums the best chance to thrive in the long run. Once cosmetic dental services are applied, you will feel more confident not only in the way your smile looks but also in the way it feels.
About the Author
Dr. Spenser Cammack is one of the two dentists who make up Peterson & Cammack Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. After earning his dental degree at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, he spent much time helping those in underprivileged areas receive oral healthcare. As a trusted and highly skilled cosmetic dentist, he enjoys transforming patients’ smiles; however, making sure they’re healthy first is his priority. If you want to enhance your appearance but are currently dealing with bleeding or swollen gums, visit our website or call (360) 459-4420 to learn how we can help.