98% Of the population has some level of gum disease, many being unaware of how bad it is. When it is chronic and ongoing it can be painless, but during an acute infection it can be very uncomfortable.
Essentially, there are three main conditions.
Chronic gingivitis
This develops as a result of poor oral hygiene, but is easily reversed at this stage. Marginal gingivitis is common in children and is confined to the edge of the gum. More generalised gingivitis is seen in all age groups and can lead to periodontitis where one or more teeth are more deeply affected by the disease process.
Chronic periodontitis
This condition is the most common cause of tooth loss, accounting for 8 out of every 10 teeth lost. Years of poor oral hygiene can result in loss of gum attachment and infection around the tooth. As the body tries to retreat from the advancing infection, there is also bone loss around the tooth. A chronic or acute perio abscess may ensue with the eventual loss of the tooth. The body has rejected the source of the infection (the tooth), and the wound heals.
Acute Ulcerative Gingivitis
Also known as "trenchmouth", this highly contagious condition is extremely painful. It is usually found in teenagers and goes hand in hand with poor oral hygiene. The classic symptoms are fever, foul breath odour and punched out painful ulceration of the gum papillae (the pointy bit of gum between your teeth). It can destroy gum contour – it's very difficult to recover lost papillae. It never occurs in individuals with good oral hygiene.
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