Gum Disease

You are probably thinking, "Yuck! I don't want to know about gum disease!" What's amazing is that zillions of people are affected by this disease and may not even know it! It really is an interesting topic once you get into it, and you can save yourself a bunch of trouble if you know how gum disease works so you can avoid it. It also seems like the average American adult sees something like a hundred ads every day talking about gingivitis. Why is that? It's because periodontal disease, AKA gum disease or pyorrhea, is a bacterial infection affecting an estimated 56 million Americans, and is about as widespread as the common cold! Three out of four Americans will suffer from some form of gum disease in their lifetime. Given that it is so widespread, it's funny that you don't really hear about it as a kid - the whole focus with children is on cavities. Nonetheless, gum disease can become a real problem for adults!