Peri-Implantitis

If you have a dental implant and your gums bleed, that’s a sign there’s something wrong. Peri-implantitis is the inflammation of gum tissue surrounding an implant. We provide high-quality implants at Redwood Dental Smiles in Castro Valley, allowing patients to regain their bite function, the stability of their jaw, and the beauty of their smile. But patients should be aware of the importance of taking care of their new teeth, which is why peri-implantitis is the subject of this week’s blog post.


Gingivitis literally means “gum inflammation.” It is usually the immune system’s response to an infection in the pocket surrounding the lower part of a tooth. Gum pockets are a good place for bacteria to evade brushing and flossing. As the bacteria feed, they produce acid, which sticks to the tooth and causes erosion. If the infection is allowed to persist, gingivitis can develop into periodontal disease, which causes the loss of gum and jaw bone tissue.


When people first get implants, there is a period called osseointegration during which the implant fuses with the jaw bone. This makes both the jaw and the implant more stable, but if too much jaw tissue is lost, the implant will be destabilized and have to be removed. If patients notice gum tissue around an implant is inflamed, they should try to improve their brushing and schedule a cleaning with us. If gum disease is caught quickly enough, implants can nearly always be saved.


Redwood Dental Smiles is operated by Dr. Vijay Munagala at 20212 Redwood Rd, Suite 101, Castro Valley, California, 64546. To schedule an appointment, visit Redwood Dental Smiles or call 510-886-6416.


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Halloween Tips

Stores are full of Halloween candy, and the rest of the sugary treats of the holiday season will soon be upon us. So how do you protect your and your children’s teeth from decay without spoiling everyone’s fun? At Redwood Dental Smiles, we have some solutions, but first, we wanted to explain more about how tooth decay works. While consuming highly sugary snacks isn’t good for you, the amount of time teeth are exposed to sugar is the more relevant factor to decay than the sugar content of any particular thing. The riskiest Halloween candies for teeth are hard candies, which are sucked on for a long time, and toffees, which get caught in between teeth. But other risks come from drinks such as apple cider and creamy lattes, which will leave sugary residue on teeth if drunk slowly, and from high-starch vegetables such as winter squash. Brushing after eating sugar is the best way to prevent tooth decay, but this is sometimes unfeasible. Another tactic is to only eat candy with meals, when t
Read more

Dental Instruments

Regular dental cleanings aren’t just an important component of oral health. They’re crucial for a patient’s overall wellbeing, particularly if they suffer from a complicating condition such as diabetes. We at Redwood Dental Smiles in Castro Valley want our patients to feel comfortable coming to us for help, but we recognize that dental instruments can be a source of anxiety for some people. That’s why we want our patients to know their names and how they’re used. There are several metal hooks hygienists use along with the handheld mirror for basic cleanings and assessments. Explorers are hooks which are used to test the durability of enamel, the outermost layer of the teeth, and to break apart tartar. We may also use a longer hook called a probe while examining the health of gum pockets and one called a scaler to remove debris and decay from below the gum line. Patients doubtlessly remember at past visits being told to close their lips around a vacuum hose. It is called an evacuator, a
Read more

ZOOM! Whitening

A smile is the best accessory you can wear, which is why Dr. Vijay Munagala of Redwood Dental Smiles wants to ensure that her patient’s smiles are as bright as their personality. Tooth discoloration is caused by foods, drinks, lifestyle habits such as smoking, and is usually the result of poor dental hygiene. By making a few simple lifestyle changes, you may be able to prevent teeth discoloration. However, change doesn’t happen over-night. At Redwood Dental Smiles the ZOOM! Professional Whitening system can jumpstart the whitening process in the best way possible. ZOOM is a bleaching process used to lighten discoloration of enamel and dentin. The ZOOM in-office whitening procedure uses the ZOOM Advanced Power Chairside Lamp – said to accelerate the bleaching process – to activate the 25 percent hydrogen peroxide whitening. As the hydrogen peroxide is broken down, oxygen enters the enamel and dentin to bleach the stained substances, leaving the structure of the tooth unchanged. If you h
Read more