Gum disease Devon dentist Exeter - contemporary dental practice

98% of the population has gum disease. Some have severe gum disease problems and some virtually nil. Many have quite severe gum disease without knowing it. It does not pain you when chronic but can give severe pain when there is an episode of acute infection.

Here we detail three of the main infections that occur.

Very commonly seen is a generalised chronic gingivitis. If confined to the edge of the gum then it is a marginal gingivitis. It is again as a result of poor oral hygiene and easily reversed. The marginal gingivitis is common in children - even young ones and the generalised form is seen in all age groups. The generalised gingivitis leads on to periodontitis and is seen in combination with it where one or more teeth are more deeply affected by the disease process.

Gingivitis means inflammation of the gum with early loss of gum attachment to the neck of the tooth.
Chronic periodontitis is the most common reason for tooth loss, accounting for eight or nine out of every ten teeth lost! Years of poor oral hygiene resulting in loss of gum attachment around the tooth, combined with increasing bone loss as the body tries to retreat from the advancing infection, leads to chronic periodontisis. A chronic or acute perio abscess may ensue with eventual loss of the tooth. The body eventually gets rid of it and the wound heals - end of infection!
Acute Ulcerative Gingivitis also known as Trenchmouth is highly contagious and extremely painful. It is more often found in teenagers and goes hand in hand with poor oral hygiene. The classic symptoms are fever, foul breath odour, punched out painful ulceration of the gum papillae ( the pointy bit of gum between your teeth). It can destroy gum contour. It is very difficult to recover lost papillae. It never occurs in individuals with good oral hygiene.