Certain risk factors can make gum disease worse. If you have one of the following risk factors, you should be extra committed to taking care of your teeth and gums.
- Smoking and tobacco chewing
- Diabetes
- A weakened
immune system (such as from AIDS and HIV)
- Heart disease
- A family
history of periodontal disease
- Pregnancy
- Using certain medications
(such as oral contraceptives, steroids, blood pressure medications, seizure
medications and certain cancer-fighting drugs)
- Unbalanced diet
- Stress
- Abnormal oral conditions or habits (such as badly aligned teeth, defective
fillings or teeth grinding)