I know how frustrating it can feel to be suddenly confronted by the notion that you have gum disease. Yet, you should know that you really are not alone. Lots and lots of people have this problem. The difference between you and them is that they do not know it yet.

Statistics tell us that up to 75% of people are now suffering from some form of gum disease. Well, actually, they have ’some form of gum disease’. You might agree that if true, many people just do not know they have it. It is not something that many people talk about or discuss.

This is one of the reasons they call it a silent disease. So, to revisit the key point, you are not alone. Many people are in the same boat.

Often people wonder how they got it. Well, it is a bacterial infection. You cannot completely get rid of the bacteria, but on the other hand, not all of the bacteria in your mouth are the type that cause gum disease. Only a small portion are.

These bacteria grow pretty rapidly under a thin biofilm called plaque. You may have heard that term before. We are often warned to brush and floss our teeth – the whole point of that is to disrupt plaque.

Plaque forms this pretty much invisible layer in our mouths. Under the protection of that layer you will find that bacteria are shielded from oxygen. In a low oxygen environment such as this, the bacteria digest things in a different way than ‘normal’. The byproducts of this are what irritate and harm our gum tissue.

The good news is that if you can manage to disrupt this layer of plaque on a daily basis, you may be able to control the bacterial population to the point that you do not exhibit any signs of dental disease. This would be a happy point to arrive at, wouldn’t it?

One of the key points about this problem, and the vast majority of dental professionals will happily tell you this if you ask them – is that what you do at home is far more important than what they do in the office when it comes to preventing dental disease.

Here again, you should know that this is not really your fault. You see, if the average regimen of brushing and flossing were enough, then most people would not be stuck with an active case of gum disease, would they?

On the other hand, few of us have never been told what we can do beyond brushing and flossing to make our mouths healthy again. As you can see, this isn’t that great for any of us!

Learn what else you can do to help stop this problem.

Read more on this topic at http://www.HowToStopGumDisease.com

As part of my work, I get to talk to a lot of people about dental health and from listening to their stories of pain, suffering, solutions and treatments that do not provide long-term relief is something I find very frustrating! I think that by now, in our modern age, better answers should be provided to us from ‘professionals’ and ’scientists’.

Unfortunately, I am convinced that we have been sold a ‘bill of goods’ in the notion that brushing and flossing are all that you need to maintain your dental health and prevent problems.

My proof that is not true is self-evident. People still get cavities, their teeth still crack or break and they still get gum disease. In relation to the last term, the stats say it all! Most dental professionals agree that up to 75% of people have some form of gum disease right now.

Therefore, you tell me, is it sensible to believe that merely brushing and flossing is enough for the majority of people to maintain their dental health? The reality of today’s state of dental health is very frustrating because the lack of knowledge about what dental disease is and what you can do about it is insidious.

In addition, I challenge you to ponder these simple questions. Dentistry has been with us for a very long time, yet why do so many people still need cavities filled, root canals, crowns, gum grafts, and other ’special treatments’? Do you think that no one has ever come upon good answers to prevent these problems in all the years that ‘modern’ dentistry has been around?

I certainly do not claim to have all of the answers, but I do think that I might have some of them. I was able to avoid one of those popular ‘deep cleaning’ treatments. Even if you have not heard that term from your dentist before or the terms, ‘SRP’ or ‘Scaling and Root Planing’, the chances are pretty good that someone you personally know has!

I would further challenge anyone reading this article to dig deeper and discover the knowledge, understandings, tools and products that can truly help promote better dental health and save you and your loved ones from unnecessary expense, pain and prevent the need for harsh treatments!

David Snape is the author of the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease, ISBN: 978-0981485508 available at ToothyGrinsStore.com and other online book retailers.

* Comment below if you would like to share your story or just make a point!

* Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and does not intend to suggest diagnosis, treatment or suggest dental health advice. If you have or think you might have a health problem of any sort, including but not limited to dental health, visit your doctor or dentist for advice, diagnosis and treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about any products mentioned in this article.

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