As your dental health care team, we want to help you be on the lookout for symptoms of abnormal conditions in your mouth. One of the most common and potentially destructive problems we encounter is gum disease – also called periodontal disease. It affects over 75% of adults over 35 and is responsible for about 70% of adult tooth loss.
We look for periodontal disease during your regular dental checkups, yet we’ve seen patients develop advanced stages of the disease even in between their visits.
What should I be looking out for?
- Red, swollen or tender gums or other pain in your mouth
- Bleeding while brushing, flossing or eating hard foods
- Gums that are receding or pulling away from the teeth, causing the teeth to look longer than before
- Loose or separating teeth
- Sores in your mouth
- Persistent bad breath
- Pus between your gums and teeth
- A change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite
- A change in the fit of partial dentures
What do I do if I persistently have some of these symptoms?
Our best advice is to not be your own dentist. Periodontal disease is a greatly progressive disorder, and the fact that you’re seeing symptoms of it may indicate it’s been building for a while. Fortunately, there are some easy and minimally invasive fixes if you catch the problem on time.
It is often perio disease that is the precursor for tooth loss. Wishing it away or ignoring it because it doesn’t hurt actually causes more harm than good. Unfortunately Periodontal disease does not hurt until the teeth are ready to fall out. It is easily manageable with steady and persistent dental hygiene at home, diet modifications and regular visits with our trained and gentle dental hygienist.
We urge you to set up an appointment today to have the hygienist and dentist examine you. There are also links to gum disease causing complications in other areas of the body. People with heart troubles, diabetes, pregnancy to name a few should especially take care to get gum disease under control, since having both can lead to serious complications.
Come visit us if it has been a while so we can help you to stay in the best health.
Be Well!
Dr. Lieu
