Despite its name, gum disease affects more than your gums alone. Your teeth and even your jaw can start to hurt from the effects of gum disease. Let’s take a look at when and why gum disease can feel like a toothache.
What Is Gum Disease?
Medically known as periodontal disease, gum disease is a chronic infection of the gums caused by bacteria buildup. The infection inflames the gums, making them swollen and tender.
The earliest stage of gum disease, called gingivitis, often causes tenderness and bleeding gums. Without treatment, gum disease advances through several stages with worsening symptoms such as tooth pain, gum recession, jaw bone deterioration, and tooth loss.
When Can Gum Disease Feel Like a Toothache?
Gingivitis can make your gums hurt and bleed, but it typically does not cause tooth pain. However, gum disease can start to feel like a toothache as the infection progresses and attacks the tooth structure, which can cause tooth pain.
Once bacteria reach below the gum line, they attack the bone and tissue supporting your teeth. This can cause painful tooth sensitivity and tooth infections called dental abscesses. If you have any kind of tooth pain, you should see your dentist as soon as possible.
How to Know If Gum Disease Is Causing Your Tooth Pain
There are many possible causes of tooth pain, including cavities, teeth grinding, damaged fillings or crowns, impacted wisdom teeth, and even sinus infections.
But if gum disease is causing your toothache, you’ll likely experience the following symptoms along with your pain:
- Red, puffy, sore gums
- Gums that bleed when brushing or flossing
- Chronic bad breath (halitosis)
- Gum recession
- Pockets between the teeth and gums
- Exposed tooth roots
- Sensitivity to hot, cold, sweet, and acidic foods/drinks
- Loose teeth
Gum Disease Treatment
Immediate intervention is the only way to stop gum disease in its tracks. But periodontal disease requires different types of treatment depending on the severity of the infection. For instance, gingivitis can often be treated with a professional cleaning and reversed by improving your daily oral hygiene routine. However, the more advanced stages of gum disease may require treatments like scaling, root planing, antibiotics, and/or surgery to stop the spread.
How to Prevent Gum Disease
Without proper prevention, gum disease can easily return. Here’s how you can prevent toothaches from gum disease:
- Brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each time
- Gently floss between your teeth every day
- Use fluoride toothpaste to strengthen your teeth
- Use mouthwash to kill bacteria
It’s also essential that you attend your twice-a-year dental checkups. Regular teeth cleanings eliminate disease-causing bacteria, and checkups allow your dentist to diagnose and treat gum disease early on. But depending on the level of gum disease you have, you may need to visit the dentist more than twice a year to keep your symptoms under control.
Emergency Dentist in Flagstaff, Arizona
You should never ignore a toothache, whether it’s from gum disease or another cause. Unexplained tooth pain is a dental emergency and needs prompt treatment. The compassionate team at Country Club Dental will diagnose and treat your pain so you can find relief. Give us a call at 928-526-4314 today if you’re in need of emergency dental care or would like to schedule an urgent appointment.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (2/6/2023). Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels
