Most people don’t appreciate how important healthy gums are to your oral health.
Periodontal disease, a.k.a. gum disease, is the leading cause of tooth loss in the US. In other words, you need to take care of your gums if you want to keep your teeth.
George A. Hoop, DDS, and the rest of our dental team work every day to help patients in and around North Naples and Fort Myers, FL maintain their healthy smiles. As part of that effort, we want to spend a little time today reviewing the warning signs of gum disease and reminding you what you should be doing to protect your teeth.
Call (239) 594-8817 if you want to learn more about how our approach to general dentistry could be good for you and your family.

Learning the Signs

Do you remember when you were learning to drive? In addition to how to drive a car or truck, you also had to learn the meaning of various signs and signals. Those signs let you know what you could and should do.
When it comes to oral health, it’s equally important to know the signs of potential problems so you can move in the right direction.
Healthy gums feel firm to the touch and appear pink, and they do not bleed when you brush or floss your teeth.
If your gums feel swollen, look redder than usual, or bleed while you brush or floss, then you are likely to have gingivitis. This is a mild form of gum disease. The good news is that periodontal problems can be easily treated at this stage.
On the other hand, if you ignore these early signs, then you are likely to develop periodontitis, which is the advanced form of gum disease. Coincidentally, the Centers for Disease Control estimate that nearly half of Americans 30 years old or older have some form of periodontitis.
You should plan to visit one of our locations as soon as you are able if you notice any of these symptoms:

• Gums that bleed easily
• Bad breath that does not go away
• Pus between your gums and teeth
• Sores in your mouth
• Separation between your gums and your teeth (receding gums)
• Gums that feel sore or tender
• Loose teeth or changes in how your teeth fit together

If you are experiencing one or more of these problems, please seek treatment as early as you can. It is possible to eliminate periodontitis, and the earlier you seek treatment, the more effective it is.

What You Can Do

The best thing you can do is having a good oral hygiene routine. This means brushing and flossing every day. (A recent survey by the ADA showed the less than half of all Americans actually floss daily.)
You also should have regular professional dental cleanings and exams. We can see your mouth from angles that you can’t. As a result, we can remove plaque and tartar buildup, and we will be looking for any signs of gum disease.
We would much rather catch these problems before they rob you of your smile. Early treatment is less invasive and less expensive.

Specially Qualified to Help

By coming to Dr. Hoop’s office, you’ll also be treated by someone with a deep understanding of the potential effects of gum disease. Dr. Hoop worked as a periodontist, a specialist in gum health, before he decided to open a general dental practice.
For the healthiest mouth possible, keep up your daily oral hygiene habits and visit us a couple time every year. If you suspect that you may have gum disease, contact us online or call (239) 594-8817 today to set up an appointment.
Help us help you keep smiling!

“Nobody has more anxiety than me,” says Phyllis.
Yet, she feels at ease visiting us at the office of George A. Hoop, DDS.
Phyllis admits that she had a hard time finding a new dentist when her old one retired, but she is quite comfortable coming to our office. As she puts it in the video below, visiting us is “like you’re in your own living room.”
If you too experience dental anxiety or fear, we can help you ease your way back into a chair at either of our offices in Fort Myers or North Naples, FL. We use advanced technology and modern techniques to make oral care as pain-free as it can be. We also offer sedation options so you can rest assured that you won’t feel anything during your visits.
To learn why Phyllis and so many other patients keep coming back to see us, call (239) 594-8817 or contact us online. When you get to know more about us, we believe you’ll want to make your next dental appointment with us, too.

Public awareness about sleep apnea has been a good thing. When more people know about a problem, more people with that problem will get the help that they need.
Unfortunately, some of the most common symptoms of this sleep disorder — snoring, headaches, and irritability — can also be attributed to other things as well. That’s why it’s also helpful to know the sleep apnea risk factors.
Our team at the office of George A. Hoop, DDS, wants to help you treat this problem so you and your spouse can get a good night’s rest. Our short quiz below can give you an idea of your risk of this condition.
You can always call (239) 594-8817 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We have dentist offices in North Naples and Fort Myers, FL.

Many people would love to try cosmetic dentistry, but they are on the fence about what to do. The offices of George A. Hoop, DDS may be able to help.
As Dr. Hoop explains in the video below, we can show you what your smile could look like with a digital smile makeover. Using advanced technology, we can show you what your new smile would look like before and after a variety of treatments.
This can help you decide how to move forward with your real smile makeover.
To see your future, plan a visit to our office in Fort Myers or North Naples, FL. You can request your consultation by calling (239) 594-8817 or by filling out our online form.

You really enjoyed your last vacation.
Maybe you and your family enjoyed a trip to an amusement park. Maybe you and your friends spent took a cruise. Maybe you took a long weekend to watch your favorite baseball team play a few games.
Whatever you did, you and your traveling companions probably took lots of pictures. It’s so easy nowadays to use the camera on your phone and share the pictures on social media.
That can be a blessing or a curse. It’s can be a great way to show your family and friends the fun things you are doing. It also may mean posting pictures of smile … and your yellow teeth.
You hadn’t really noticed it before, but now you know your “pearly whites” are so white anymore. You want to do something about it, but what should you do? Pick up some whitening toothpaste? Buy some of those strips from the store?
You should call (239) 594-8817 to make an appointment for professional whitening at the nearest office of George A. Hoop, DDS. We have locations in North Naples and Fort Myers, FL.

Powerful Stuff

We honestly wish we could tell you that all whitening products will work equally well. That’s simply not the case, however.
Whitening toothpaste does an OK job on surface stains, but it isn’t going to get deep into your enamel to remove the set-in stains that have taken years or decades to develop.
To get those stains you need a whitening product that contains a bleaching agent. Typically, this means hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. The strips and gels you can buy over the counter often do have one of these bleaching agents but at relatively low concentrations.
They can remove some deeper stains on your teeth. Because they are relatively weak, it may take much longer to remove those stains than you would like. This actually creates a risk of overuse, which can be harmful to your teeth and the soft tissues of your mouth.
Professional whitening treatments at a dentist office like ours are the safest and most effective ways to bring back your bright smile.
Professional products can be up to 11 times stronger than over-the-counter whitening products. This is why you can use them for less time and see better results. It’s also why you should only use them either under the supervision or as directed by a dental professional.

Start with a Consultation

We know it is tempting to go out, buy something, and use it. After all, it seems so simple.
The color of your teeth isn’t the only thing you should consider, however. Before a dental professional recommends whitening, he or she will first want to examine your smile.
If the effects are strictly the result of extrinsic stains, i.e. the kinds of stains that form after drinking coffee or tea or eating pasta, then whitening may work well for you.
But if you have existing or untreated cavities, whitening could be a problem. If you have crowns, whitening won’t work the same on your crown as it will on your natural teeth. This can leave different teeth looking different shades of white.
If you have intrinsic stains, then whitening won’t work as well for you. These discolorations are the result of trauma or the side effects of medication. In those situations, dental veneers are a better option. Veneers can conceal the appearance of those teeth so your smile looks brilliantly white.

See Your Smile in a New Light

We can help if you want your white, bright smile again. We can help you decide which whitening option is the right one for you.
Contact us online or call (239) 594-8817 to see what Dr. Hoop can do for your smile.