4 Subtle Signs of Gum Disease to Watch Out For

Your mouth, or the oral cavity, is an intersection of a few essential bodily functions, providing an opening for both food for digestion and air for breathing and speaking. Several different parts make all of these things possible, including your upper and lower jaws, salivary glands, palate, tongue, teeth, and gums.

Your gums, or gingivae, anchor teeth in place once they’ve grown out of your jaws, and have several layers of soft tissue that keep things functioning normally in your jaws and teeth. Gum disease, also called periodontitis, causes several problems for your oral health and affects millions of people every day.

To prevent gum disease from causing lasting damage to your mouth, let’s review the symptoms of this condition that can be easily missed. Residents of the East Village in Manhattan, New York, looking to preserve their oral health can get help from Dr. Adam Nusblatt and his medical staff at Nusblatt Dental.

Defining gum disease

This oral condition comes in stages:

Gingivitis

Plaque build-up that causes gum inflammation can get under the gum line, where it hardens into tartar and can lead to infection. Infections can also be caused by vitamin C deficiencies (rare in the US), leukemia, hormonal changes, heavy metals found in jewelry, and some medications.

Periodontitis

When gum disease worsens, the damage to teeth increases, raising the risk of cavities and tooth loss. Additionally, in later stages, there’s more bone loss in the jaw, and the gums recede, making teeth look longer.

Risk factors of gum disease

Poor dental hygiene frequently leads to gingivitis and periodontitis, but several other factors, such as smoking and tobacco products, vaping, hormonal changes, obesity, medications that lead to dry mouth or changes in your gums, and family history, also increase your risk.

So can several underlying conditions, including diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and autoimmune diseases like HIV/AIDS and cancer treatments that lower immunity.

Symptoms that might be missed

As the gum infection worsens, symptoms such as bleeding gums (especially when brushing, flossing, or eating), receding gums, pus between teeth, swelling, and discolored plaque or tartar are more likely to occur.

However, as things develop, other signs are also common but not as easily noticed, such as:

Chronic halitosis: bad breath occurs for different reasons, but chronic issues are often tied to gum disease

Odd taste: if you get a metallic taste in your mouth, gum disease is likely

Tooth changes: teeth may feel different when biting down on things, and dentures may not fit as well

Extra spaces: gaps between teeth may also widen, especially after tooth loss

Gum disease poses several problems for long-term dental health, so be on the lookout for these symptoms and make an appointment with Dr. Nusblatt and Nusblatt Dental to manage them effectively.