Admittedly, you know you are getting older. However, you did not want to advertise that fact. When your gums reflect your true age, it can be extremely frustrating. Undoubtedly, you have gone to some length to take care of your teeth as well as your appearance.
Here are some reasons and solutions for aging teeth and gums. Only a top-rated dentist in the Los Angeles areacan perform some treatments and procedures listed and do it with finesse. If you catch these problems early, then you may regain your normal, youthful look.
Get Treatment for Gingivitis
A common reason for gums turning a darker color is gingivitis. Bacteria collect between your gum line and teeth when you do not practice proper oral hygiene. Naturally, untreated bacteria lead to infection and inflammation of your gum tissue. In time, this becomes a gum disease known as gingivitis. If left untreated, it turns into a serious disease called periodontitis.
While resuming good dental habits will help, only a special deep cleaning will address pockets of bacteria too deep for you to reach.
Change Your Beverage Choices
Carbonated drinks do not play well with your teeth. Regardless of diet or non-diet soda choices, the carbonation itself corrodes and strips the protective enamel from your teeth. Carbon particles that attack your teeth also rot your gums, especially when combined with a sticky, sweet beverage. The result is dark, blackened gums.
Make New Habits
Aging brings additional stress, problems requiring medication, not eating nutritious meals and little time to practice good oral hygiene. A build-up of plaque and tartar accumulates over time. If you smoke, then these problems create far worse gum conditions than in non-smokers.
Try changing just one habit a week. You can do anything for seven days. Practice saying no to stressful demands. Add fresh fruit and several fresh vegetables to one meal a day. The first new habit to make is calling a top-rated Los Angeles dentist who specialized in gum disease treatment and dark gum treatment.
Request Devices to Compensate for Decreased Vision and Mobility
Bacteria-laden plaque is hard to remove. Poor vision or limited mobility in your hands and arms makes brushing and flossing difficult. Ask your dentist if an electric toothbrush would help. Find out about devices that help you floss your teeth.
If not completely removed, plaque builds on your teeth and gums. Once plaque gets under your gums, the bacteria destroy gum tissue as well as tooth enamel. Also, gums shrink with age. This exposes more of your tooth to infection or decay.
What to Expect from Your Los Angeles Top Rated Dentist
A dentist specializing in gum disease treatment can address gingivitis and provide dark gum treatment. First, you need healthy gums. This happens by performing prophylaxis, or a deep cleaning. Prophylaxis includes periodontal scaling and a root plane procedure. This removes tartar and deep, bacteria-filled pockets lurking deep down by your teeth roots.
Once gum disease treatment is complete, your periodontist will perform gum bleaching. One gum bleaching method uses a Microdermabrasion process combined with a whitening solution.
The other method for gum bleaching is a dark gum treatment where your dentist removes dark pigmentation on your gums using a dental laser.
Click to contact Southland Dental Care, or call (818) 788-8787 for dark gum treatment. Yelp and Google reviews place Southland Dental Care as one of the top-rated dental offices in the Los Angeles area.
