Gum disease is a potentially serious problem that affects millions of people every year. The warning signs of the disease are difficult to catch early, making it hard to diagnose the disease until damage has already been done. While the best way to prevent gum disease is through regular dental checkups, there are signs you can look for early on. Here are a few gum disease symptoms you need to be aware of. If you detect any of these problems, you should tell your dentist.
Redness and Swelling
Pain is almost always a surefire way of knowing that something is wrong. The easiest symptoms to recognize include pain and swelling of the gums. This is a sign that the gums have become inflamed, meaning that there is an infection that your system is fighting. If your gums are unusually red, swollen, or tender, you are experiencing the warning signs of something more serious. Another common symptom is if your gums start bleeding when you brush or floss, or if you notice bleeding when eating hard foods such as apples. Even if the bleeding is not accompanied by pain, it can be a sign of gum disease.
Physical Appearance
When looking for symptoms of gum disease, be sure to look at the physical appearance of your mouth. If your gum line is beginning to recede, leaving you looking literally long in the tooth, you may be looking at an early warning sign. As the gums become inflamed, they can also shift teeth, causing unusual spacing in your smile or creating some loose teeth. Be sure to also keep an eye on any sores that develop in your mouth, especially those that have a lot of pus. Most sores will go away within a few days if you keep brushing and rinsing. If they remain longer or begin to cause you any serious discomfort, then you should seek advice from your dentist as soon as possible as explained on ContentRalley blog.
Invisible but Detectable Signs
Not all gum disease symptoms are easily seen. Gum disease is caused by microscopic bacteria, so sometimes the signs are invisible to the human eye. They can be detectable by other means, however. Bad breath that will not go away is a major sign of something wrong. Bad breath is caused by either strong foods or bacterial waste on teeth. If you brush your teeth and the bad breath returns quickly or if it will not go away even after chewing gum, then you should consider that a sign that something is wrong. If you wear bracers or dentures and find that they don’t seem to fit properly, then you may also need to worry about gum disease, even if you cannot see any increased spacing in your teeth.
Left untreated, gum disease can cause bone deterioration and eventually tooth loss. It can also be passed from one mouth to another. For those reasons, you should be sure you know the symptoms and be ready to pursue treatment so you can stop the problem before it gets any worse.
