Periodontal Disease, is a disease involving inflammation of the gums (gingiva), often persisting unnoticed for years or decades in a patient, that results in loss of bone around teeth. This differs from gingivitis, where there is inflammation of the gingiva but no bone loss; it is the loss of bone around the teeth that differentiates between these two oral inflammatory diseases.
- Common symptoms of Periodontal Disease includes,
- occasional redness or bleeding of gums while brushing teeth, using dental floss or biting into hard food (e.g. apples)
- occasional gum swellings that recur
- halitosis or bad breath
- persistent bad taste in the mouth
- recession of gums resulting in apparent lengthening of teeth. This may also be caused by heavy handed brushing using a hard tooth brush.
- pockets between the teeth and the gums (Pockets are sites where the jaw bone has been destroyed gradually or by repeated swellings).
- loose shaky teeth in later stages
- Patients should realize that the gingival inflammation and bone destruction are largely painless. Hence people may wrongly assume that painless bleeding after teeth cleaning is unimportant, although this may be a symptom of periodontitis progressing in that patient.