Healthy Smiles Family Dental

Gum disease isn’t just a matter of a little swelling. It’s an infection that could spread elsewhere in the body and cause a lot of pain. But it is treatable, and the earlier people seek intervention, the better. At Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, we help patients recover from gum abscesses, but we need people to know when to come see us. The early stage of gum disease is gingivitis. If allowed to progress, it becomes periodontitis, in which the walls of the gum pocket recede from around the root of a tooth. Abscesses are pockets filled with pus, a fluid made up of infectious bacteria, dead tissue, and acid. When an abscess forms near the gum line in a person with gingivitis, it is called a gingival abscess, and when it forms in the gum pocket of someone with periodontitis, it is a periodontal abscess. An abscess will cause persistent pain, a bad taste, and may prevent the patient from fully opening their mouth. It may also induce fever, as bacteria enters the bloodstream. We ca...

Did you know that good oral health could protect you from Alzheimer’s disease? That’s the conclusion of break-through scientific studies published in the last year. We provide patients with regular cleanings at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, but we hope our patients will come see us whenever they notice the signs of gingivitis. The bacteria that cause it could become a big problem. Porphyromonas gingivalis is a species of bacteria that causes gum disease. It excretes toxins called gingipains as a means of defending itself against white blood cells. These toxins are common, but are found in especially high levels in the brains and spinal fluid of people who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Testing on animals confirmed that the gingipains from oral bacteria that affects their species trigger the production of neural plaque. Another study found that P. gingivalis is able to travel from the mouth to the brain in humans. Scientists caution that gum disease is probably not the ...

Asthma is a condition with implications for many bodily systems, including dental health. Patients at Salem’s Healthy Smiles Family Dental know that we cooperate with their other care providers to ensure that all their unique needs are being met. If they suffer from asthma, they may need to make some additional lifestyle and hygiene changes to protect themselves from tooth decay. Saliva plays an important role in combatting bacteria that create cavities. It washes away food particles, depriving bacteria of nutrients, and neutralizes the acid produced by their metabolizing process. But people with asthma commonly suffer from dry mouth (also called xerostomia). They may breathe through their mouths because their upper airways are inflamed, or xerostomia may be a side effect of their medication, but they’ll need to drink more liquids, use humidifiers to maintain a less dry environment, and possibly use throat moisturizers. Patients should consult with their asthma specialist before making...

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, we want our patients to be aware of the link between diabetes and gum disease. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body does not produce enough insulin, the hormone that breaks down sugars. Lots of bodily systems are put at risk by it, and in the case of gum disease, there appears to be a mutually-reinforcing relationship. One of the effects of diabetes is to thicken blood vessels, limiting the amount of oxygen and nutrients that reach different parts of the body. This makes it harder for people with diabetes to fight off infections, including those of the gum pockets. In people with uncontrolled diabetes, gum infections are much likelier to develop into periodontal disease, putting the patient at risk for tooth loss as their gums and jaw bone tissue recede. There is also evidence that gum infections make it harder for patients’ bodies to regulate blood sugar, setting off a feedback l...