Are the Signs of Gum Disease Easy To Miss?

If you have always had healthy teeth and gums it may be concerning to notice that there is some blood when you spit after brushing and flossing.

If you are not sure why your gums are bleeding, we would like you to call us and we can do a checkup to see what the problem is.

Signs of Gum Disease

Gingivitis is the milder form of gum disease, when the ailment is in its infancy and it is very important to get seen right away, because it can be treated successfully and relatively painlessly when caught early. If you wait, other, more serious problem may arise, and treatment may be longer, more costly and painful.

Some things to watch out for are:

• Blood when you spit after brushing.
• Blood in your string of floss.
• Tender, swollen or red-looking gums. Healthy gums are pink.
• Sudden tooth sensitivity to hot or cold food.
• Plaque build-up.
• Bad breath.

Since gum disease, one form or another, affect almost half the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gum health is considered just as important as the health of your teeth and you will have a thorough examination when you come for your checkups.

Therefore, it’s very important to keep visiting us regularly, so if you haven’t been here in a while and have one or more of these symptoms, it may be time to set up that appointment.

Some of the signs can be related to other issues that are not gum disease. For example, blood when you spit can be explained if you are applying too much pressure when brushing or if you are using a medium or hard toothbrush.

The important thing is to get checked out, even if has been years. Periodontal disease, a more severe form of gum disease can still be treated successfully and some of the damage to your gums can be reversed.