Keep Your Eyes Open For These Signs Of Periodontal Disease As Explained By Our O’Fallon Dentists
You brush diligently and floss every day—your teeth look great. But how is your gum tissue?
In order to maintain a healthy smile for the long-term, you have to care for the underlying structure of your smile as well as your teeth. Periodontal disease is actually the leading cause of tooth loss among adult patients. In today’s short article our O’Fallon dentists are giving you some more information about what to look out for when it comes to gum disease—how can you spot this health issue before it gets out of control?
The first thing to consider is how your gums look. Healthy gum tissue can be any number of shades of pink and beige. However, as tissues become infected, they can start to look redder and brighter in color. This is a direct result of the inflammation caused by chronic gum disease.
As gum disease progresses, you may notice that your gum tissue starts to actually pull away from your teeth. The resultant spaces between your gums and your teeth are called periodontal pockets. Unfortunately, these gaps tend to collect bacteria and dental debris, and, thus, can exacerbate and intensify gum disease.
Because gum disease weakens your gum tissue, you will probably find that your gums are prone to bleeding, especially when you floss. Sometimes patients are able to reverse this problem, and stop the bleeding, by simply upping their oral hygiene efforts. In other cases, patients need to complete more extensive gum disease treatment to reclaim healthy gum tissue.
Finally, if you notice that your breath is chronically stale or malodorous, this may be due to gum disease. Harmful oral bacteria, which cause cavities and gum disease, also emit unpleasant odors. In order to conquer bad breath for good, you may need to seek gum disease treatment.
The best thing that you can do, as a patient, is to stay alert for any of these issues in your own smile. As soon as you notice changes to your gum health, it’s time to reach out to our O’Fallon dentists for an evaluation and treatment.