Causes of Gum disease

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When plaque builds up on the teeth, the bacteria in it produces toxins, which irritate the tissues surrounding the teeth, the gums, the periodontal ligament and the bone, causing gum disease.

Dental plaque is a sticky film, which is constantly forming on your teeth. It contains many bacteria some of whose waste products irritate the gum tissue. The bacteria in plaque become more organised and produce more of these harmful toxins if the plaque is not removed regularly.

It is important to remove plaque from the teeth thoroughly twice a day. This is best carried out by thorough brushing with a fluoride containing toothpaste and cleaning in between the teeth with dental floss or interdental brushes. Your dentist or dental hygienist will be able to tell you whether you are cleaning your teeth properly and advise you on how to clean any areas you are missing.

If plaque is not thoroughly removed, salts from the saliva cause it to become hard and form scale or dental calculus. This cannot be removed by normal brushing and will need to be removed by your dentist or hygienist during a scale and polish. The calculus is rough and causes plaque to accumulate more rapidly increasing the problem.

If your teeth are uneven or crowded they may be more difficult to clean properly and if you have an uneven bite (malocclusion), certain teeth may be put under more strain, making gum disease more likely.

If calculus is not removed regularly a pocket may form between the gum and the tooth, which is impossible for you to clean properly.

As the pocket gets deeper and periodontal disease progresses, the tissue that covers the tooth roots (cementum) may become infected and need to be removed by deep scaling or root planning under a local anaesthetic.

Severe gum disease can be caused by extreme vitamin C deficiency (scurvy), although this is now very rare.

You are more likely to get gum disease if you smoke cigarettes, have a suppressed immune system (due to treatments such as chemotherapy, or conditions such as HIV), or if you have diabetes or oestoporosis.