How to tell if your gums are healthy

Does everyone say you have fresh breath and nice, white teeth? If you think that these are enough gauges to say you have healthy teeth and mouth, you’re wrong. If you want to be sure, check your gums and most likely, you will find your answer. According to studies, stroke, diabetes, lung issues, and heart attack have long been associated with gum problems.  So if you ever wonder on how to tell if your gums are healthy, find out more in this article.

It is said that any color other than pink should be a cause of alarm for you. Reddish gums have long been associated with periodontis, a type of gum disease. Swelling and bleeding, regardless if they are minor occurrences, typify this disease. Whitish, or pale-looking, gums also signals health issues. Usually, it is infection that causes this. This simply proves the belief that gums, indeed, is a manifestation of health for people.

As a matter of fact, studies conducted at the Emory University in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control says that with unhealthy gums, ones life expectancy rate decreases by up to 6.5 years. People with periodontis and gingivitis are predisposed to this. Death rate is about 20% up to 40% higher than those with healthy gums. Therefore, if you want to avoid getting sick, ensure you take care of your gums.

Unhealthy Gums and Illnesses

Periodontis. This is also commonly known as “gum disease”. It can easily be detected due mainly to gum swelling and inflammation of other tissues around the gums. It is said that about 70% of the cases involving adult tooth loss is caused by having periodontal disease. Initially, a reddish inflammation and bleeding is easily noticeable at the base of the tooth. If left unattended, it slowly progresses to infection, and later on, bone loss. Because of this, bacteria infects the blood stream and the immune system is disturbed.

Diabetes. Periodontis is said to slso affect diabetes treatment. With periodontal disease, the body becomes confused on how to adjust the blood sugars. If left untreated, periodontal disease can trigger a diabetic attack whereby a diabetic patient either experiences high or low blood sugar levels. Since the effects could lead to extreme medical scenarios, diabetics treat the condition with antibiotics that would help regulate one’s blood sugar while treating periodontis as well.

Heart attack. Periodontis is said to be one of the leading causes of heart attack. As bacteria enters the body system, it attaches itself onto veins and arteries. With the increase in levels of plaque on the arteries, the veins become swollen and later on, starts a blood clot. Harvard University, in a span of 12 years, studied this fact with the help of around 40,000 healthy and disease-free men. It proved that of those who participated in the study, men who developed periodontis suffered blood clot-related strokes.

Infections of the lungs. Finally, it was also proven that when bacteria caused by periodontis infects the blood stream, one could also develop lung diseases such as asthma, and worse, life-threatening diseases like bronchitis and pneumonia.