Having gum disease can be a nuisance and a pain, but for many people, it stops at that level. With treatment, it can completely be controlled and even reversed. However, if you know that you and your partner both have gum disease and are working towards getting it fixed, you might want to think about your children, too. Here's how they could be impacted by this disease.
Genetic Predisposition
For many people, gum disease is triggered purely by a lack of good oral hygiene. However, there's also the potential for genetic predisposition.
Some people are more prone to gum disease, which means that they're more likely to get it whether or not they take good care of their teeth and gums. If you and your partner both carry this predisposition, there's a strong likelihood that your child or children have it, too. This could make them more likely to develop gum disease not only in life, but in childhood.
Not Enough Oral Hygiene Care
When you were diagnosed with gum disease, chances are one of the first things your dentist told you to do was to start a regular flossing routine. While this is a great way to help control and reverse early-stage gum disease in adults, many children lack the dedication and coordination required to floss. Even those who do floss often don't do the best job of it, so it may not help them as much as it could. With this, combined with a potential predisposition, your child could definitely start developing gum disease while they're still young.
What to Do
The good news is that taking care of your child's potential gum disease is as easy as it was to manage your own. The first step is to take them to a dentist's office.
Your dentist will examine your child's teeth and gums to determine if they have gum disease or are on the brink of getting it. If they are, a thorough cleaning combined with good home at care should help to reverse the condition. If they don't have it yet, then great! Keep up the good work at home, and follow any directions your dentist provides regarding your child's oral hygiene care.
You may also want to integrate additional treatments at home into your child's daily oral care. For example, water flossers are a lot easier for children to use and can help to blast away plaque and bacteria responsible for causing gum disease.
To learn more about protecting your child's oral health, contact family dentistry services in your area.
Every time you take a bite of food, you should be grateful for your healthy teeth! A tooth can lose its health and structure quickly once decay sets in. Luckily, if you visit your dentist for regular appointments, the decay should not get too serious before your dentist notices it and can do something about it. That "something" is applying a filling. On the other hand, if the decay progresses too long before it is caught, you may need a crown or even an extraction.
We want to keep our teeth, and we know you want to keep yours. That's why we created this website to teach you more about dentists and dental care. Enjoy!