 What is gum disease?
Gum disease (periodontal disease) means infection or inflammation of the tissues that surround the teeth. Depending on the severity, gum disease is generally divided into two types - gingivitis and periodontitis.
Gingivitis
Gingivitis means inflammation of the gums. Most cases of gingivitis are caused by plaque. This is then called plaque-associated gingivitis.
Periodontitis
Periodontitis literally means "inflammation around the tooth". It occurs if gingivitis becomes worse and progresses to involve the tissue that joins the teeth to the gums (the periodontium), and/or the supporting bone.
As a consequence of periodontitis, a gap (pocket) develops between the tooth and gum. If left untreated, the tooth may slowly loosen and eventually fall out.
Dentists assess the severity of periodontitis by measuring the depth of the pockets that form between the gum and tooth.
Plaque can be removed from shallow pockets (up to about 3 mm deep) by brushing teeth in a normal way. However, deeper pockets need to be treated by a dentist as normal brushing will not reach the bottom of the pocket.
The rest of this leaflet is about plaque, and plaque-associated gum disease (plaque-associated gingivitis and plaque-associated periodontitis). There are other uncommon types and causes of gingivitis and periodontitis which are not dealt with further.
How common is plaque and plaque-associated gum disease?
They are very common. Surveys in the UK in the late 1990s found that:
Plaque and/or calculus was visible in more than 7 in 10 adults who had teeth.
Plaque was visible in just over 4 in 10 of those aged 15–18.
Some degree of gingivitis was present in more than half of adults and in about 4 in 10 of those aged 15–18.
Periodontitis with pocketing was present in about half of adults and in nearly 2 in 10 of those aged 15–18. Most cases of periodontitis were 'moderate' with pockets up to 4-5 mm deep. However, 8 in 100 adults were found to have severe periodontitis with pockets 6 mm or deeper.
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