Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss and nearly 47.2% of adults aged 30 or older have some form of gum disease. Nearly 70% of adults 65 and older have gum disease. What many gum disease sufferers don’t know is the consequences of untreated gum disease. As an effort to help more patients visit Appolon Dental Group for gum disease treatment, we’ve listed every consequence of untreated gum disease. Find out why you shouldn’t wait to seek treatment.
Receding Gums
One of the first ways gum disease will affect your oral health is by causing receding gums. The gums begin to pull from the tooth due to the infection. It will cause the tooth’s dentin to show which is a yellowish shade. The exposure of the dentin looks unsightly and can cause tooth sensitivity to temperature or sweets. If you have gum disease, you may frequently wince in pain every time you take a sip of hot coffee or take a lick of ice cream.
Using sensitive toothpaste can help. However, you will likely need gum grafting to return your gums to their original position.
Infection
Gum disease is an infection in your gums. When you leave an infection untreated, it will only get worse. As your gum disease worsens, it can cause you to form abscesses on your gums which are pockets full of pus. The infection in your gums can also enter the bloodstream and spread throughout your body and affect your heart.
Bone Loss
As gum disease progresses, the infection will start to destroy the bone that holds your teeth in place. Losing bone can cause your teeth to become loose and affect your facial structure. Without treatment, it can cause tooth loss and require you to get a bone graft in order to qualify for dental implants.
Tooth Loss
As we stated before, untreated gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss. If you lose enough bone, your jaw won’t be able to hold teeth securely in place. Severe cases will need to have their teeth extracted. Then, patients will either need to choose between getting dentures or getting a bone graft and dental implants. Either way, untreated gum disease will lead to tooth loss.
Heart Disease
One of the body’s biggest enemies is chronic inflammation. Inflammation causes the body to attack its healthy cells and the number one reason why gum disease has links to heart disease. The American Heart Association claimed that people with poor oral hygiene were three times more likely to get heart disease. Gum disease can also contribute to hypertension and even affect the effects of hypertension medications. Untreated gum disease also increases a patient’s risk of heart attack by 49%. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the world. Simply taking care of your oral health can help you reduce your risk.
Diabetes
In the presence of sugar, bacteria thrive even more. When you have high glucose levels, it can make you even more susceptible to gum disease. On the flip side, gum disease can increase your blood sugar levels which increases your risk of type two diabetes. Either way, gum disease, and diabetes go hand in hand.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
There is a certain bacteria, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans that’s found in both rheumatoid arthritis patients and patients with gum disease. These specific bacteria trigger an inflammatory response that causes overactive immune system proteins. As a result, it causes joint inflammation. Treating gum disease may help improve your symptoms.
Alzheimer’s Disease
Another major consequence of untreated gum disease is a higher risk for Alzheimer’s. The same bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis is found in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients as well as those with gum disease. Alzheimer’s disease affects nearly 5 million Americans. Preventing Alzheimer’s disease or complications from the disease might be as simple as taking good care of your oral health and treating gum disease as soon as possible.
Pneumonia
The last potential health consequence of untreated gum disease is pneumonia, asthma, and COPD. Chronic inflammation from gum disease can affect each of these conditions. This is because the infection from gum disease automatically triggers the immune system to stay on high alert. During this time, it sends inflammation body-wide including the airways and lungs. If you already suffer from these conditions, gum disease can potentially make them worse.
Prevent and Treat Gum Disease in Midtown Manhattan
Fortunately, preventing gum disease is easy with our Midtown Manhattan dentist’s help. Aside from brushing and flossing at home, Dr. Appolon can give you a dental cleaning every six months to remove plaque and tartar build-up from your teeth and underneath the gum line. This can prevent gum disease from forming. In addition, frequent visits to the dentist can help us identify whether you have gum disease in its earliest forms and provide treatment before the condition worsens. Whether you think you have gum disease or are due for a dental cleaning, our Midtown Manhattan dentist can help. Please call us at (212) 557-8668 to book an appointment today.
