Taking regular care of your oral health not only prevents gum disease, but it also enhances your overall smile. As the saying goes, your smile is indeed the way to your heart. The good thing about the human body is that it always gives abundant warning signs before something goes wrong and the same goes with your dental health. In this article, let us talk about some oral health signs that you shouldn’t ignore –
1) Bleeding gums
Bleeding gums is a tell-tale sign that something is wrong with your dental area. There is a myriad of reasons that cause bleeding gums. The main reason being the plaque present in your mouth. Plaque accentuates the attack by germs on healthy tissue around the teeth. This, in turn, causes inflammation and bleeding when brushing and flossing.
A change in colour or swelling is something that needs to alert you to possible gum disease. If left untreated, it could lead to aggravating circumstances like gingivitis and periodontitis.
Another thing to notice when it comes to bleeding gums is that people with diabetes are in a greater risk for infection as their resistance to bodily infections are comparatively lower.
2) Losing teeth
A sign of advanced gum disease, losing your teeth means that your infection has progressed and is also a sign of osteoporosis in some cases, especially among older people. If you are losing teeth, it is vital that you consult a doctor and maintain strict diet over what you eat. Osteoporosis is a very common disease among elderly and usually does not show any symptom and is hence not diagnosed by a vast majority unless a bone is fractured or broken.
3) Changes in the texture of tooth enamel
A sign of erosion due to the acidic nature in your teeth, modification in texture of your enamel is not something that you should ignore. Other signs of acid reflux is vomiting which denotes that it is time you start watching what you eat and take food in regular intervals instead of skipping them.
4) Bad breath
Bad breath on a regular basis is a symptom that could mean a medley of infections. It could either mean a sinus infection/lung disease/kidney infection or other ailments. It is vital that you consult with a doctor to ascertain the next steps and confirm your suspicions.
5) Sensitivity in your teeth/toothache
Sensitivity in your teeth could be due to a variety of causes. While it is usually due to eating something acidic or a side effect of eating something with extreme temperature, it could also potentially mean the indication of a gum disease/plaque.
Toothache if left untreated could lead to nerve damage or even losing them, so it is advisable to consult a doctor if ache in your tooth persists.
6) Sores and lumps in your teeth
Whilst stress and nutrition issues could cause sores and lumps in most cases, it could also mean canker sores and in very rare scenarios, even oral cancer. Your oral specialist would be trained to recognise the tiniest difference in symptoms and would be able to advise you on the course of treatment.
7) Abnormalities in your tongue
Changes in your colour and texture in your tongue could mean a sign of a myriad of ailments like thrush(presence of yeast in your mouth). Thrush could be accentuated by a number of factors and it is vital that you take proper care of oral health to avoid abnormalities in your dental area.
8) Developing multiple cavities
It could denote a sign of diabetes and the inability to process glucose. This usually is caused by the accumulation of sugar in your mouth thus accentuating the growth of bacteria and which in turn causes plaques and cavities.
9) Dry mouth
It is also Called Xerostomia, dry mouth usually occurs when there is a decrease in the production of saliva.The causes of dry mouth may vary from something as simple as stress to diabetes, autoimmune syndromes and salivary gland ailments.
In conclusion, most people spend little time to take care of their dental health and which in turn may cause a host of issues due to neglect. This is why you need to have regular dental appointments to ensure that your smile remains intact, always!!
So, the next time you get any of these signs, watch out and consult a specialist right away! Cut the issue in its nip, before it is allowed to fester into something serious.
