What your teeth could be telling you

Statistics show periodontal disease affects over 85 percent of the population, but there's more to your mouth than tooth decay and gum disease. There are some secrets your teeth could be trying to tell you.

Jennifer Harvey has taken a detour from the dentist for years, and this is what happened - diseased, decayed teeth!

"My gums were just bleeding all the time," Harvey said.

Dr. Larry Lieberman says more than 800,000 visits a year to the emergency room are because of teeth troubles.

"It's very difficult to handle all the emergencies," Lieberman said.

And those emergencies could be more than just in your mouth. Did you know white, yellow or brown spots and grooves on the tooth surface could be a sign of celiac disease? Pain in your top teeth could be a sign of sinus infection. Canker sores are a tell-tale sign of allergies you may not know you have.

If your mouth tastes like you've been licking an aluminum can, it could be trying to tell you need more zinc. Swollen white nodes towards the back of your tongue could indicate HPV. And a bluish color on your tongue may be a sign of oral cancer.

Harvey's problems turned out to be not too serious - gum disease. She's up'ed her dental game, brushing and flossing twice daily. She stays away from chewy foods and orange juice, and soda is totally out.

"If you put a tooth in soda, you're going to see it dissolves within several days," Lieberman said.

Now Harvey doesn't mind a day with the dentist.

"It's so much easier to come here now," she said.

Lieberman advises his patients to take CoQ10. He says it helps teeth and all cells of the body work better. Also, research from the Journal of the American Dental Association shows vitamin D deficiencies in pregnant women can lead to tooth decay in their babies.