Periodontitis begins with red, swollen and bleeding gums, which are subjectively felt and observed by the patient, but many patients ignore these symptoms because they are not painful and mistakenly believe they are harmless to their health. This leads to the discovery of the presence of periodontal disease when the condition is already more serious, and once the acute attack occurs, patients will experience fever, facial swelling and other symptoms, which are painful and have serious consequences. The seven hallmark symptoms of periodontitis 1, brushing bleeding Brushing bleeding is the earliest and best discovered symptom of the presence of inflammation in the gums. Whether the bleeding is intermittent or continuous, large or small, spontaneous or irritated by brushing and eating, it means that your gums are in bad condition, or at least suffering from gum inflammation, as to whether it has involved the bone, it requires professional examination by a periodontist for early treatment and control. Of course, there are some periodontal disease patients whose bleeding is not obvious, such as long-term smokers, whose gums are paler in color and tougher in texture, and whose bleeding tendency is not obvious. Then there are patients who usually brush their teeth less carefully, brushing only the surfaces of the teeth where they bite thus not stimulating the gums at all. Long-term scientific research has shown that smoking is very closely related to periodontitis, it will promote the development of inflammation, so routine periodontal examination is the key to prevention and early treatment. 2. Swollen and painful gums There are individual locations where the gums are suffering from acute inflammation leading to the creation of abscesses, which can also lead to swollen and painful gums. When patients come to the clinic, they describe a “big bag” on the gums, which may have just started or may be repeatedly swollen. This is a “periodontal abscess” caused by periodontal inflammation, which often represents a rapid and massive destruction of the underlying local bone, so it must be treated early. 3, persistent bad breath bad breath is a common oral disease, causing bad breath for many reasons, periodontitis is an important cause. Periodontitis can cause bleeding gums, tissue inflammation, and metabolites produced by pathogenic bacteria can cause bad breath. 4, gum swelling, itching or discomfort Periodontal disease can lead to swelling of the gums, and in general this swelling and destruction is not painful, so we call it the “silent killer”. However, some patients may feel a swollen, itchy or uncomfortable feeling in a certain part of the gums, or even comfortable when touched with a toothpick or finger, which means you need professional periodontal examination and treatment. 5. Loose teeth or even loss of teeth is a symptom of serious inflammation to a certain degree, some loose teeth can be relieved after treatment, while some may not be effective, such teeth in chewing things will more or less affect your quality of life. When you find that individual teeth even fall out on their own, be sure to come to the periodontal examination, the life of other teeth in the mouth on your mind. 6, feel that the gap between the teeth is getting bigger and bigger Periodontal disease will cause the gums and the alveolar bone below to recede, causing the space between the teeth that should be occupied by the gums and alveolar bone to be exposed, making the patient feel that the gap between the teeth is getting bigger and bigger. 7, teeth, especially the upper and lower front teeth shift Sometimes the loosening of teeth may not be very obvious, but many patients find that their upper or lower front teeth slowly change position over time. For example, the middle gap of the incisors has become larger, for example, one incisor has twisted, for example, the incisors are showing outward, and then there are scattered gaps in the lower front teeth, etc. These are all symptoms of periodontitis. After periodontitis treatment, the removal of calculus and the remission of inflammation of the original swollen gums can cause patients to feel that the gaps in their teeth have become larger, and this has led many patients to believe that scaling is the main cause of the larger gaps in their teeth. In fact, the gap is caused by the resorption of the alveolar bone due to periodontal disease and is not directly related to scaling.