My family's dental health is important to me. Unfortunately for me, it is not as important to my little ones. Getting my kids to brush and floss on a daily basis is almost like taking on an obstacle course. I talked to my family's dentist about different methods I could try to encourage them to brush and floss on a regular basis. Some of the tricks worked, some did not. After some experimentation and talking to other parents, I was able to come up with a lot of great tips for helping kids care for their teeth. I started this blog to help other parents get creative when it comes to their kids and dental care.
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A Guide to Creatively Handling a Child's Dental Health
Gum Measurements: 3 Things You Should Know
Bella Snyder
If you have not been to a dentist for a while, you may have never experienced having your gums examined and measured. Gum measuring is a process used by many dentists today as a way of monitoring a person's gum line. This service is important for several reasons, and here are a few things you should know about this.
How it is done
During a routine dental visit, the dentist or a hygienist will measure areas around your teeth with a special type of dental tool. While this is being done, the hygienist will record the measurements, and there are usually six measurements for each tooth. These measurements tell the hygienist the size of the periodontal pockets around your gums. It is not good to have pockets around your teeth because they can harbor bacteria and food debris.
What the purpose is
The purpose of this test is to make sure your gums are healthy and that you do not have gum disease. For normal, healthy gums, the measurements should be a 1 or 2, in terms of millimeters. If you have any areas that are 3 or 4 millimeters, it can represent a potential problem. If there are areas that measure a 5 or 6, it represents major gum problems. Higher numbers mean that the gums have receded too much, whereas lower numbers represent a healthy amount of gum tissue.
If your gums have receded and have pockets in them that are deeper than normal standards, it is likely caused by plaque. Plaque is something that leads to decay on teeth, and it can also damage your gums.
What the results of the test mean
The results of this test will be dependent upon the condition of your gums, and you may or may not need some form of treatment for your gums. Your dentist will tell you if your gums are normal. If so, nothing will need to be done for them.
If the pockets affecting several of your teeth have measurements of 5 or 6, your dentist will diagnose the condition as periodontal disease, also called gum disease. If you have gum disease, your dentist may recommend treating it with a tissue graft procedure. This requires adding tissue to the areas in your mouth that do not have enough.
You can prevent gum disease by taking good care of your teeth, and you can learn more about this by visiting a dentist in your city.
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