scaredy, if you have gingivitis bordering on periodontitis, you can help yourself by visiting your dentist 3-4x per year instead of 2x per year. Unfortunately, dental insurance only pays for two prophylactic visits per year, so you will likely be “out-of-pocket” for the other 1-2 visits for a total of $120 – $220 each, depending on length of your exams and what is done. These exams will likely be with a dential hygenist & dentist as opposed to a dental assistant & dentist where your teeth will be hand-scraped for at least 45 minutes and your gum pockets measured every other time you visit, to see if they are resolving themselves. This routine really does work but it could take up to 3 years in combination with cutting sugar and starch out of your diet.
I don’t eat sugar or white flour but just a little on holidays (homemade pie) and have never drank soda with sugar in it. However, I did not receive any dental care at all until I moved to SD in my early 20’s and obtained union benefits through my job. Fortunately, I have had the very best dental care since then (incl a few restorations in the past 25 years) but gingivitis and periodontitis runs in my family so I have to stay vigilant with it.
If left untreated, periodontitis can cause all kinds of health problems, including deadly cardiovascular problems such as heart attack and stroke. I saw this first hand when one of my beloved cats (7 yrs old) suddenly died in my arms of a heart attack (her siblings eventually lived to be 18 and 20). I wanted to understand why this happened to her, so I had the county autopsy (necropsy) her and that is when I found out that a deadly blood clot had traveled from the severe periodontitis beneath her gums to her artery, blocking blood flow to her heart. Bacteria from periodontitis in the mouth can also travel to the heart causing an inflammation/infection of the heart called endocarditis.
Of course, pets can’t tell us what is wrong with them or if they are in pain. That is why they need a checkup with a vet at least once per year and I fell down on my responsibilities with this cat due to being overwhelmed by “life” at the time.
You don’t want to go there, scaredy. If you’re not doing so already, brush your teeth after lunch during the business day.
And btw, “Twizzlers” are made of 95% sugar … in case you didn’t know :=0
