A beautiful smile wins both hearts and minds, as is commonly stated. Sporting a charming smile is a great way to connect with people and lighten the atmosphere everywhere. However, a charming smile only goes well with healthy teeth and gums. For, rotten teeth and bleeding gums are quite an appalling sight to come across. The importance, therefore, of maintaining an excellent oral hygiene can never be overestimated.
To maintain perfect oral hygiene, it’s important to take care of your teeth and gums on a consistent basis. Recognizing certain teeth and gum diseases in their early stages is an important step in this direction. If left untreated, they carry the potential of developing into greater problems and causing various kinds of health complications. Therefore, it’s important to recognize and treat the problem in it early state. Its common knowledge that brushing the teeth regularly and flossing our teeth several times a day is the best way of eliminating gum diseases. Additionally, if our diet happens to be rich in sugars and artificial preservatives, the risk of contracting any kind of teeth and gum diseases is significantly greater. In this blog, we tell you the 10 silent signs of gum diseases you must never ignore.
What are gum diseases?
Consuming a diet rich in sugars and artificial preservatives is the primary cause of gum diseases and teeth problems. Several types of cavities and gum diseases occur when we are not consistent in brushing our teeth and flossing them several times a day. However, what are these “gums” that are being referred to here? Gums are the two areas comprising of pink flesh inside our mouths which serve two important functions. One, they cover and protect the upper portion of our teeth and second, they provide support to them.
There are two types of gum diseases, periodontitis and gingivitis. Periodontitis occurs when there is an infection of the gums while gingivitis occurs when there is an inflammation of our gums. The occurrence of these two conditions are usually attributed to two main causes – heredity and poor oral hygiene. If left untreated and ignored for a long time, these gum diseases can lead to cavities, falling of teeth ulcers, and the most worrisome of all, heart diseases.
Don’t ignore these 10 silent signs of gum diseases
Sign no. 1
You know you are suffering from several kinds of gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis when you experience chronic inflammation of the gums. When this happens, your gums become swollen and painful and develop pus due to infection, thus preventing the flow of blood in that area.
Sign no. 2
Another symptom which occurs with the onset of gingivitis and periodontitis is the redness of the gums. However, people tend to ignore this condition often because its not accompanied by any kind of pain. It’s very important to treat this condition immediately before it leads to further infection and inflammation.
Sign no. 3
Having spongy or extremely soft gums is another symptom of gum diseases and should not be ignored. Soft and spongy gums occur when the inflammation of the gums draws water into the gum tissues, thereby making them edematous (an excessive accumulation of fluids in the gums).
Sign no. 4
A little bleeding of the gums while brushing your teeth or flossing them is quite normal. However, what is not normal is the bleeding of the gums every time you brush your teeth or floss them. This could be another silent symptom of gingivitis or periodontitis.
Sign no. 5
If, even after brushing your teeth and cleaning your tongue with a mouth wash, you are troubled by chronic bad breath, it simply means that you are suffering from gum diseases. Bad breath occurs when the bacteria, which causes the infection to occur, mixes with the food particles accumulated in your gums and teeth. It can be quite troublesome and embarrassing.
Sign no. 6
If there is a white and watery secretion from your swollen gums when you apply pressure on it, with or without blood, it means that you are suffering from periodontitis and gingivitis. This is because the secretion that you see is actually the pus which is created by the gum diseases.
Sign no. 7
If there is a foul taste in your mouth like you have eaten stale food, and everything that you eat tastes bad, then its time for you to get checked for gum diseases. This is because the pus secretions, when mixed with the saliva in the mouth, lead to a foul taste.
Sign no. 8
One of the most recognizable signs of receding gums is your teeth suddenly appearing bigger or longer than they actually are. The onset of gingivitis or periodontitis can cause significant damage to your gums, thus reducing your size and causing them to appear larger.
Sign No. 9
One of the major indicators of gum disease is loose or shaky teeth. Surprisingly, this is often ignored by most people, who simply mistake it for a usual loosening of the tooth. If you are troubled by premature loose teeth before the age of 50, its time to get yourself checked for any kind of gum diseases.
Sign no. 10
While chewing food, if you suddenly experience any kind of pain, even though you may not have cavities, it’s another sign of gingivitis or periodontitis. This usually happens when the inflammation of the gum occurs while chewing food.
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