Categories: Patient Education

How Do You Know You Have Gum Disease?

Periodontitis, or gum disease, is an infection caused by plaque or tartar (bacteria) that is left untreated on your teeth. It can damage your gum tissue, bone density, and even cause you to lose teeth in severe cases. How do you know you have gum disease? Periodontitis begins with gingivitis – which usually presents with inflamed, tender, or bleeding gum tissue. Most patients experience this bleeding and sensitivity when they’re brushing their teeth. Once the infection has progressed, you may notice a receding gum line or pockets forming around your teeth.

What Are The Symptoms Of Gum Disease?

As previously mentioned, a bleeding, tender, or receding gum line can be signs of an infection. However, these are not the only symptoms you may experience. Many patients don’t realize that things like chronic or persistent bad breath can be an indicator that there is too much bacteria in your mouth.

Other than these few signs, you may have loose teeth or they may have shifted which may make you feel as though your feet aren’t fitting together correctly anymore. You may also feel pain when you try to bite or chew food, as well as feeling sensitivity to extreme temperatures.

If you’ve noticed any of these symptoms lately (whether you’re brushing your teeth or not), it’s worth a phone call to your dentist. They’ll want to examine your mouth to see if an infection is present, but the earlier you’re able to catch the bacteria, the less likely it is to spread and the easier it is to treat.

Dr. Smith

Recent Posts

How Do Dental Implants Strengthen Your Smile?

We’ve discussed our non-surgical options for tooth replacement, such as bridges and removable dentures. But…

16 hours ago

Supporting A Complete Set Of Custom Dentures

Our last blog talked about handling complex cases of tooth loss with a set of…

2 days ago

How We Craft Your Partial Dentures

With partial dentures, our team can create a set of new teeth that can fill…

3 days ago

Preventive Dentistry Helps Keep Your Smile Strong

Our team believes in preventive dentistry, and we use these general dental treatments to help…

1 week ago

How We Secure Your Lifelike Bridge

A dental bridge is a natural-looking dental prosthetic that we use to take on minor…

1 week ago

Looking For Summer Fun In Grand Prairie

Summer is here, and there is always something fun and exciting happening in our city.…

2 weeks ago