Gum disease, (pyorrhea or periodontal disease) is the most prevalent disease in the United States today. It is estimated that, after the age of 35, seventy to eighty percent of Americans have it in some form or another. Once present it is an ongoing source of infection that progressively gets worse unless treated. And the amazing thing is that it usually causes no symptoms!

Gum disease is a chronic condition involving the deterioration of the gum and bone that anchors the teeth. It is caused by a bacterial infection wherein bacteria become imbedded in the roots of the teeth where they serve as colonies for more bacteria which actually destroy the underlying bone. As time goes on, the teeth may become sensitive, the gums recede, and eventually the teeth will become mobile and abscess.

But there’s more. In the last ten years, the inflammatory response of the entire body to the disease in the mouth has led researchers to note that gum disease is a causative factor in heart attacks, stroke, low birth weight babies, kidney disease, diabetes, and more. This expanding body of research indicates that the chronic, continuous inflammation caused by gum disease raises C-reactive protein levels, the #1 marker for inflammation and the factor implicated in more and more disease.