Twice-daily brushing and flossing go a long way in preserving the pearly white beauty of your smile. It’s also instrumental in helping prevent periodontal disease, a leading cause of tooth loss. Despite the dual aesthetic and health benefits role that brushing and flossing provide, more than 60% of U.S. adults over age 35 are living with some form of periodontal disease.
Patients with moderate to severe periodontal disease tend to dread the discomfort and pain associated with traditional treatment, whether scaling and root planing or more invasive procedures like gingival flap surgery and gum grafting. Such treatments are usually critical for halting the progression of gum disease to prevent further damage and potential tooth loss. However, there is another periodontal treatment you can turn to that effectively treats the underlying causes of the disease and promotes the regeneration of damaged tissues.
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that people have sought ways to whiten their teeth since ancient times. Ancient Egyptians used a whitening paste of ground pumice and wine vinegar, while ancient Romans whitened their teeth by rinsing with urine, with its ammonia serving as a bleaching agent. Along with these tried and surprisingly true teeth whitening efforts, the ancients probably experimented with other whitening methodologies that weren’t passed down through history due to their lack of success.