By Dr. Bicuspid and Dr. Joe Miskin, Ajax, ON 1. What is gum disease? While brushing and flossing are important, there are other causes of gum disease. Some foods affect the bacteria in our gut, which can affect the bacteria in our mouth. Processed foods can cause an increase in unhealthy bacteria in the gut and then spread to the mouth. These bacteria become dominant in the mouth causing other bacteria to overgrow in the plaque.  These bacteria prevail by fermenting the refined sugars and grains that we eat to produce inflammation and acid resulting in a vicious cycle between the foods we eat and the bacteria in the body. This can result in progressive gum disease and tooth decay.   An unhealthy diet also affects the immune system of our patients, which contributes to the health of their mouth.   Emotional stress also can affect the immune system creating gum sores and severe inflammation without the abundance of unhealthy bacteria.  Environmental chemicals can get into our body and disrupt our cells' capability to function properly. These chemicals are in our food, the air we breathe and the water we drink and could cause chronic inflammation that causes havoc through our system and our mouth.2. My dentist hasn’t been able to give me the answers?Dental school taught me the obvious causes of dental disease and the traditional treatments to restore damaged teeth and gums. Dental school never taught us the environmental, nutritional, or psychological causes of oral disease.3. Is nonsurgical treatment possible?Reformative procedures can help the body heal from progressive gum disease without surgery. These techniques use a laser which has been shown to kill bacteria that cause gum diseases and stimulate new bone growth, and ligaments around the infected teeth4. Do my children have to suffer as I have?The children have to be taught and practice good oral hygiene which will keep them healthy.Children will be positively influenced if the parents eat healthy foods and live a healthy lifestyle. Their parents must become educated in what is healthy and what is not. Children don't have to develop dental decay or gum disease. 5. Can gum disease spread like a cold?It's been proven that gum disease may be transmitted between partners through kissing.