What is Periodontal Disease?

Periodontal disease can be simply described as an infection of the soft and hard tissues in the mouth that are the primary supporting structures of your teeth. 

As you may already know, the disease is one of the most common causes of tooth loss in adults in the country and this is down to it being relatively painless. That in mind, some patients or members of the public can be entirely unaware of the disease wreaking havoc on their teeth and gums. 

In this article, we will dig a little deeper into what periodontal disease is, along with a few signs and symptoms and what you can do to treat and prevent the issue from worsening.

Recommended: Gum Disease

Signs, Symptoms and Early Warnings

As we mentioned above, the disease can be relatively pain free and go unnoticed in a lot of adults, which means that spotting the issue can be difficult unless you know exactly what to be on the lookout for. 

You may expect to experience some form of pain or obvious sharp soreness when a disease as serious as this one is considered, though, unfortunately this isn’t the case — making it a little more complicated to know when you need to seek help from your dentist or not.

That in mind, some of the biggest signs that are synonymous with the disease include: 

• Routinely poor-smelling breath that won’t subside. 
• A bad taste in the mouth that doesn’t dissipate. 
• Noticing adult teeth migrating, wiggling or coming loose. 
• Gums that are easily irritated, inflamed and bleed. 
• Obvious gum recession where gums have moved away from the teeth. 
• A change in your bite or how your teeth feel when biting down. 

Those points noted, it should be a little easier for you when it comes to understanding more about this oral issue and whether you should make an appointment with your dentist for further assessment and treatment. 

What Can Cause the Disease to Occur or Worsen 

When it comes to most oral diseases, there are a few things that can cause these to occur in the first place, as well as worsen over a period of time. 

You will want to make sure you’re following a good oral health routine and not making any lifestyle choices that can negatively impact your teeth, gums and the soft tissues in your mouth. 

That said, there are a few clear activities or health issues that can further increase your risk of developing and worsening periodontal disease and these include:

• A poor oral hygiene routine.
• Diabetes and similar diseases.
• Smoking cigarettes.
• Consumption of specific medications such as steroids, cancer therapies, oral contraceptives as well as anti-epilepsy drugs.
• Chewing tobacco.
• Pregnancy.
• Genetic factors.

Though some of these factors can’t be controlled, there are a few which can be, and it is important to do your best to keep watch of your lifestyle choices and to focus on making decisions that don’t increase your risk of damaging your oral health. 

Diagnosis and Treatment

If you do suspect you’re suffering from periodontal disease it is imperative to make an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible to prevent the issue from progressing unchecked and causing further damage.

It is important to note that without thorough diagnosis and treatment, the disease can become increasingly destructive and aggressive and cause everlasting damage to the teeth and mouth. To add, in some cases, the issue can extend from the loss of gum tissue through to the corrosion of bone and teeth, too. 

One second point to note is that the disease may not present at all, which means none of the symptoms above is apparent and you’re not able to rely on a self-assessment. This makes it crucial to have routine checkups with your local dentist to keep watch of whether the disease is present or progressing — or if you’re in the all-clear. 

With all of the above factors out of the way, we hope that you are better able to detect and understand this common and destructive disease and can to work to mitigate it from occurring. 

Keep in mind that a good oral hygiene routine is a great place to start and having routine check-ups will keep further oral health issues at bay.