Pyorrhoea



Pyorrhoea can be described as a common dental condition. When a periodontal disease reaches an advanced stage, it is usually referred to, as pyorrhoea. It is mainly an infection in the bones, as well as the ligaments that support the teeth that leads to this dental condition. While it is not a particularly serious condition, pyorrhoea should be checked and controlled in time, or else it could lead to shrinkage of those gums that surround the teeth. In some cases, pyorrhoea could also lead to loss of teeth. Medically known as Pyorrhoea Alveolaris, this condition is also commonly referred to as pyorrhea.

While there are different factors that could lead to pyorrhoea, the most common cause is lack of adequate dental hygienic measures. Poor dental hygiene gives rise to unwanted growth of bacteria in the mouth. The unhealthy bacteria thrive on the deposits of food that are left the mouth and the teeth after you eat. Due to the overgrowth of bacteria, the gums get infected and swell up. This in turn has an effect on the structure that supports the tooth. As the condition progresses, the gums continue to recede and loosen the tooth after a while. Apart from lack of dental hygiene a poor diet can also lead to pyorrhoea in people.

In many instances pyorrhoea goes unnoticed and untreated, mainly because of the fact that it does not cause any pain. However, in case you do notice a swelling or the symptoms of an inflammation in your gums, it is important to seek professional help and control the condition else you could end up losing some of your teeth. In order to avoid any periodontal disease or periodontitis, it is absolutely essential to follow a healthy diet and maintain proper oral hygiene at all times. Fortunately, it is not difficult to treat pyorrhoea, with the help of medication as well as simple home remedies. However, if the condition reaches an advanced stage, where it is characterized by bone loss in the gums, you may need to opt for surgical procedures for the teeth in order to rectify the problem.

Symptoms of Pyorrhoea

Fortunately, pyorrhoea is a fairly painless condition and at the same time, it does not trigger off any serious discomfort that interferes with your daily activities. This could be one of the reasons that the condition goes unnoticed at least in the initial stages. However, as pyorrhoea progresses, you may notice a few symptoms like tenderness, redness and swelling in the gums. You may also experience bleeding from the gums, discharge of pus and bad breath in some cases. However, it is not likely for pain to accompany these symptoms.

The pus accumulated along the margin of the teeth has the tendency to travel into the stomach as you eat or drink anything. This could lead to further problems, which can be quite serious. At times, the infection in the teeth could give rise to a condition known as Sepsis. This is a severe condition which can have an adverse effect on the normal functioning of your liver and other organs in the abdominal cavity.

Causes of Pyorrhoea

The most common cause for pyorrhoea is the accumulation of bacterial plaque. This occurs when a person does not follow adequate dental hygiene. In case you do not brush your teeth twice a day and floss regularly, you too could suffer from bacterial plaque, periodontal disease and eventually pyorrhoea. Therefore, in order to avoid this problem, make sure that you brush your teeth twice a day, gargle after every meal, floss once a day and use a mouthwash that can get rid of bacterial overgrowth in your mouth.

Using the incorrect brushing technique or brushing your teeth on a hurry does not protect you teeth from bacteria, infections and diseases. Therefore, take your time during this activity and make sure you are thorough. Flossing and gargling will get rid of food deposits in your mouth, which in turn will restrict the growth of bacteria. However, following these steps once in a while is totally useless and cannot prevent any dental problem. For best results you need to follow your dental routine to the tee, on a daily basis.

The health of your teeth also depends a great deal on your eating habits. In case you consume an excess amount of sugar and other unhealthy foods, the germs in your mouth can increase in number. The deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals in the body has also been known to cause dental diseases, like pyorrhoea.

Some of the other factors that can lead to pyorrhoea include:

  • Gum injuries that are not treated
  • Chronic illnesses
  • Excess stress and prolonged tension
  • Blood diseases
  • Glandular disorder
  • Allergies
  • Infections

Remedies for Pyorrhoea

Fortunately, there are several different home remedies that can be very effective in the treatment of pyorrhea. Given below are some of the commonly recommended home remedies for pyorrhoea:

  • Chew on a piece of guava fruit that is not ripe. Alternately, you could also chew on the leaf if possible. This helps to stem the bleeding in the gums
  • Make it a habit to chew a few lettuce leaves after every meal.
  • Add a cup of plain spinach juice to a cup of plain carrot juice and drink the mixture regularly, to avoid the condition
  • The inner thread-like peel found in bananas is very good for maintaining good tooth-health. Try to eat a banana along with this thread-like peel.
  • Take a few orange peels and rub them over your gums, to reduce any inflammation. Alternately, you could also try lemon peels or lemon juice for this purpose
  • Brush your teeth and immediately rub some mustard oil on to them, to reduce bacterial plaque. For better results, add a pinch of rock salt to the oil, before applying it on to the teeth.
  • Take a small bit of sesame oil and keep it in the mouth for around 10 minutes or so, if possible. Gargling with this oil is also quite effective for dental problems.
  • Boil a few fenugreek seeds on water for around half an hour or so and then gargle with the resultant concoction
  • Mix some salt and pepper together and massage the gums with the powder. This helps strengthen the gums and also gets rid of any bacteria. To enhance the effectiveness of this home remedy, add some powdered pomegranate rind to it.
  • Take 100 ml of honey and mix it with 200 ml of castor oil and 5 grams of camphor. Rub this mixture directly on to your teeth and gums.

Diet for Pyorrhoea

By following a well-balanced and healthy diet, you can reduce any nutritional deficiencies in your body, which in turn improves your overall health, including the health of your teeth. Therefore, it is important for you to follow a diet that is high in fresh fruits, veggies (especially green leafy vegetables), whole grains, seeds, nuts and dairy products. Since meat and eggs are high in protein, you could also include some amount of chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, beef and pork to your diet. The foods that are regarded as the best for the health of the teeth mainly include raw green salads.

While some foods improve the health of your teeth, others could have a negative effect on them and could in fact aggravate pyorrhoea and other dental problems. Therefore, it is absolutely essential for you to restrict the consumption of these food items, or preferably eliminate them from your diet completely. Given below are some of the foods that are bad for the teeth and therefore should be excluded from a diet for pyorrhoea:

  • Caffeinated food and beverages like chocolate, coffee, tea, colas and other aerated drinks
  • Sweets, sugary items as well as artificial sweeteners
  • Alcohol
  • Hard foods, which could put strain on the teeth while chewing, causing them to get loose, break or fall
  • Sticky foods, like gum, jams, jellies and so on
  • Condiments that contain a high amount of preservatives, artificial food coloring or are acidic
  • Processed meat
  • Packaged foods that are made from refined flour
  • Make sure that you gargle with a mouth wash or preferably brush your teeth after every meal you eat.

    Suggestion for Pyorrhoea

    Unfortunately, in today’s fast paced world, several of us overlook important health aspects, which could include regular dental checkup. This could be due to the fact that most of us believe dental problems are rarely serious and cannot be life-threatening in any way. Therefore, you may take notice of other health problems and get them treated immediately, but dental problems are usually left unchecked, till they cause a tremendous amount of pain and discomfort.

    However, it is important to realize that an infection in the teeth affects everything that you swallow and therefore can spread to your digestive tract and from there to the other parts of the body. Before you know it, a simple dental condition could lead to a serious health complication. Therefore in order to avoid such problems, it is very important for you to take care of your teeth right from a young age.

    The importance of a proper dental routine cannot be stressed on enough. At the same time, it is advisable for all children and adults to visit their dentist at least once every six months, for a routine checkup, even if their teeth appear absolutely fine and healthy. In case you do have teeth-related problems, you need to schedule these visits more often. Please set up an appointment with your dentist today, if you have not had a visit in the last six months or so.

    
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