eastin center for cosmetic dentistry

General Treatments

Gum Therapy

Gum Disease

What's the most common disease in the United States? Is it heart disease, stroke or cancer? Amazingly, gum disease is more common than heart disease, stroke, cancer and Alzheimer's combined. The good news is that unlike those other diseases, gum disease is easily prevented and treated.

Gum disease is an infection of the gums and bone surrounding the teeth. Often silent and painless, this type of infection cannot be eliminated by the immune system.

Gum disease usually manifests early in life and slowly progresses until the gums and bone are seriously damaged. Untreated gum disease is a major cause of adult tooth loss.

Modern medical science has proven that periodontal infection is more serious than originally believed. The bacteria that infect the gums and bone can easily travel to other areas of the body. If untreated, periodontal infection has been proven to increase your risk of developing many other diseases:

  • Heart disease is increased 150%
  • Stroke 300%
  • Premature birth and low birth weight babies 700%
  • Osteoporosis 200%
  • Respiratory infections are increased by 500%
  • Insulin control in diabetics is affected by periodontal infection

Equally alarming are the results of new research that show the brains of Alzheimer's patients can be infected with the same germs known to cause gum disease.

Of course, these are just known associations between gum disease and other medical conditions. Links to other chronic conditions are likely to be proven. Many diseases such as heart disease, mental illness, cancer, arthritis, stomach ulcers, diabetes and auto-immune conditions are also caused by infections. The bacteria that cause gum disease may eventually be proven to affect these infections as well.

Undiagnosed and untreated gum disease is a major obstacle to optimal health for a large percentage of the population. Fortunately, modern dental medicine has the solution -- the dental laser. When used in conjunction with comprehensive periodontal therapy, the dental laser has been shown to eliminate periodontal infection and stimulate repair of the damaged gum and bone. Treating periodontal infection in this way has been shown to lower your risk of developing heart disease, stroke, low birth weight babies and possibly even Alzheimer's. Even more, laser periodontal therapy has none of the drawbacks of the older therapies -- it's comfortable, doesn't cause gum recession, it doesn't involve drugs or harsh chemicals and many patients find they don't need to get numb during the therapy.

Providing the very best that modern dentistry has available and looking after your overall health is our passion at Eastin Center for Cosmetic Dentistry. We are proud to be one of the few dental offices in the Inland Northwest to be using dental laser technology in our periodontal therapy. Using this modern approach we can eliminate periodontal infection and contribute to the overall wellness of our valued dental clients.

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Curtis Eastin, DDS, ND
Center For Modern Dentistry
1250 Ironwood Drive
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
(208) 667-4844