Gum Disease & Periodontitis

I often ask people how their mouth is feeling when they are in my office. Hardly anyone ever says - wait, I've never heard anyone say - "Doc, I think I have gum disease occurring and progressing." Why's that?

Gum disease is a tricky disease. It's unlike a toothache. If you have a toothache, it will hurt and you will know something is wrong. Gum disease (be it a reversible state called gingivitis or one with irreversible and progressive bone loss called periodontitis), typically won't hurt even if it progresses from the reversible to irreversible state. It's been said that hypertension (high blood pressure) is the silent killer because you won't feel it if you have high blood pressure; high blood pressure needs to be detected and diagnosed by measuring it. Same thing with gum disease -- you need to have x-rays to evaluate bone levels and routine periodontal charting (gum level measurements) to detect gum disease. Well actually, you can detect gum disease on your own. But that's when it's much too late and your teeth are wiggly or you notice a lot of spacing between your teeth, etc. So whenever I get a patient that says that they haven't been to the dentist in many years and everything feels fine, 9/10+ times I know there is periodontitis occurring.

If you have any questions for Dr. Tuan Pham, please give us - your South Austin Dental team - a call or email us!