Periodontal disease is one of those dental problems that sound harmless, but have adverse effects on your oral health. The unfortunate thing is that many people suffer from this disease at a point in their lives, but are not sensitive enough to treat the infections.
While it may be easy to get away with some symptoms of this disease, some situations require attention from a periodontist near you for proper treatment. Read on to learn more about this disease and how bad it can get.
What Is Periodontal Disease?
It is an oral problem commonly known as gum disease. It describes the infection of the gum tissue, spreading to the bone tissue underneath. Unfortunately, many of the patients that seek periodontics treatment do so when the problem is far worse than it should be. They end up nursing adverse dental issues that could have been avoided if they sort treatment earlier.
This disease begins when the gum tissue is infected. In most cases, the infection is caused by plaque build-up. Plaque is a substance that features food residues, bacteria, saliva, and acids in the mouth. If you are lenient with oral hygiene, you are likely to harbor plaque in your mouth. The plaque then spreads the infection to your gum tissue, throughout your mouth.
Stages of Periodontal Disease
To understand the severity of gum disease, it is important to analyze the different stages it occurs. There are two stages of the infection:
- Gingivitis – is the initial stage of the disease. At this stage, even the periodontist in Salt Lake City is likely to prescribe some medication to deal with the infection. The symptoms are usually minor, and the infection only damages part of your gum tissue.
- Periodontitis – it is the dreaded stage of gum disease. To affects more than just your gum tissue. The bone tissue underneath is also affected, as well as your teeth. The symptoms associated with this stage of gum disease require drastic measures to correct. For treatment, therefore, you may need to consult experts in Salt Lake implants & periodontics. Some of the consequences of this stage of gum infection are permanent, and you can only treat them through restorative dentistry.
5 Warning Symptoms Of Periodontal Disease
When it comes to detecting gum disease, many symptoms can be considered. However, some symptoms are more alarming than others. The idea is to watch out for the warning signs that can tell you when the infection is progressing quickly into a worse state. The common 5 symptoms you must consider include:
- Bleeding and swelling – this happens in the early stages of gum disease. However, it cannot be taken as mild symptoms, since it is evident that the infection has already started to damage the gum tissue. Be watchful to monitor the swelling. If it keeps spreading to other places on your mouth, then your infection is quickly progressing to the next stage.
- Pain – it is not enough that you spit out blood when you brush your teeth. Gum disease goes further to cause tenderness on your gums, making it painful to eat or chew anything. The tenderness of the gums makes them susceptible to breakage, which might also leave you will some open wounds to nurse.
- Mouth sores – mouth sores from gum disease are a lot similar to canker sores. However, when your gums have an infection, the sores hardly heal. If anything, they keep recurring, causing you immense discomfort. Besides, having that your gums are already tender, swollen, and painful, mouth sores will oy make your experience worse.
- Receding gums – this may not be a sign you notice at one go. The more intentional you are with checking your gums, the more you are likely to notice the difference. The recession of the gums happens gradually so that the swollen gum tissue keeps drawing further from the teeth.
- Shaky teeth – if it gets this far, then you are near the breaking point of periodontal disease. Teeth begin to feel shaky when both the gum and bone tissues have been compromised. Perhaps the effect will be felt on one tooth, and then gradually on more than one of your teeth. If you are not careful, this is the symptom that may cause you to lose your teeth permanently.