Maintaining healthy gums is a crucial part of ensuring a disease-free and pain-free mouth for life. Failing to take care of your gums properly has severe consequences. You increase your risk of developing gingivitis, gum disease, and other oral health conditions. In addition to experiencing discomfort and pain, you may also face tooth loss and irreparable damage to your mouth.
Caring for your gums doesn’t have to be complicated. Your daily, at-home dental hygiene habits protect your gums from disease and infection. You can also make adjustments to your lifestyle to take better care of your gums.
The Importance of Gum Disease Prevention
Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, occurs when your gums become chronically inflamed and infected. Although reversible in the early stages, it can cause irreparable damage to your gums, teeth, and soft tissues if untreated.
Redness, tenderness, and swelling are common signs of gingivitis, the first stage of gum disease. Plaque and tartar buildup along the gum line irritates your gums, leading to soreness and inflammation. Without proper treatment and habit changes, gingivitis progresses to periodontitis and, eventually, advanced periodontitis.
In advanced periodontitis, the fibres and bones supporting your teeth are destroyed. There is no way to reverse this damage once it occurs. This can impact your bite and cause teeth to become loose in their sockets. Advanced periodontitis is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults.
Fortunately, gum disease is preventable. Gingivitis is reversible. You can avoid the devastating effects of advanced periodontitis by maintaining good oral health and caring for your gums.
Symptoms of Gingivitis and Periodontal Disease
- Red, swollen, and tender gums
- Gums that bleed easily
- Inflammation
- Persistent bad breath (halitosis)
- Gums that have pulled away from your teeth
- Pain when chewing
- Loose and wobbly permanent teeth
5 Easy Tips for Healthy Gums
The quality of care you provide for your teeth and gums significantly impacts your long-term oral health outcomes. Fortunately, the positive dental hygiene habits that lead to happy teeth also protect your gums. You can minimize your risk for gingivitis, gum disease, tooth decay, and other oral infections with these straightforward and achievable tips.
1. Practice proper oral hygiene
Your at-home oral hygiene habits are incredibly important. How you care for your teeth and gums between dental appointments is the difference between a healthy, pain-free mouth and one plagued with disease and discomfort.
The foundation of your dental hygiene routine is the 2 x 2 rule: you must brush your teeth two times a day for at least two minutes. Make sure to use a soft-bristled toothbrush, since hard or coarse bristles can wear down your tooth enamel and damage fragile gum tissue. You should also use fluoride toothpaste to assist in remineralization, keeping your enamel strong and healthy.
Your technique also matters. When brushing your teeth, make small, circular motions with the toothbrush. Position the bristles at a 45-degree angle to your teeth, facing directly towards the gumline. This angle allows the bristles to clean the area where your teeth and gums meet, removing any plaque that has accumulated along the gumline. Otherwise, that plaque can cause gum inflammation and, potentially, gum disease.
Additionally, you should floss once per day to remove food debris and plaque buildup between teeth and at the gumline. It’s almost impossible to keep these hard-to-reach spots clean with brushing alone. If you find flossing irritates your gums, the solution is more (not less) flossing. When you neglect to floss for a long period of time, your gums become more sensitive. Once you start flossing again, though, the discomfort will disappear within a few weeks.
2. Eat a healthy diet
Your diet plays a huge role in maintaining healthy gums and teeth. Limiting your sugar intake, snacking in moderation, and prioritizing vegetables and whole fruits over processed foods sets your smile up for success.
You’ve probably heard that sugar causes cavities. In reality, sugar accelerates plaque accumulation and creates an acidic oral environment, which increases your risk of developing tooth decay. The naturally occurring bacteria in your mouth feed on the sugars, producing acid and forming plaque. When you eat less sugar, your oral bacteria also eat less sugar. This leads to a healthier mouth and healthier gums.
3. Drink enough water
Drinking water benefits your oral health in two major ways: it washes away plaque and leftover food debris, and prevents dehydration. Additionally, you protect your gums from bacterial attacks by opting for water instead of sugary beverages, such as pop or sports drinks.
Every time you eat or drink, some food debris and sugars get left behind. Your body naturally produces saliva to wash these particles away, but drinking water helps, too. Water rinses your mouth, helping to keep your oral environment acid-free and oral bacteria in check.
Dehydration is a problem for your oral health. It can lead to a dry, acidic mouth that irritates gums and wears down tooth enamel.
4. Quit tobacco and limit alcohol consumption
Tobacco and alcohol are very detrimental to your overall health, including the health of your mouth and gums. If you are currently a tobacco user, quitting is the most powerful thing you can do to prevent oral health conditions, like gum disease and cancer.
Excessive alcohol consumption is a problem as well. Many types of alcohol are high in sugar, which can compromise your gum health and cause tooth decay. Alcohol can also be acidic. It’s dehydrating, so it can lead to dry mouth and inflammation.
5. Visit your dentist regularly
Your daily habits and lifestyle choices have a significant impact on the health of your gums. However, your dentist also has an important role to play.
Even with daily brushing and flossing, some plaque and tartar buildup is normal. Every mouth has hard-to-reach places, and plaque is relentless. Once plaque hardens into tartar, it can only be removed by your dentist and special dental tools. It must be removed, or else tartar weakens tooth enamel and causes gum inflammation.
These appointments also provide an invaluable opportunity to check on your oral health. Your dentist examines your mouth for signs of developing health issues, like gingivitis and gum disease. Since gingivitis is reversible, but periodontitis is not, early detection is paramount.
Gingivitis Treatment
If you have gingivitis, it’s important to act quickly to control the infection and restore your gums to full health. Your dentist thoroughly cleans your teeth, removing bacteria, plaque, and tartar from your teeth’s surface and along the gumline.
By removing these concentrations of inflaming bacteria, gingivitis can be reversed. You will also need to improve your at-home oral hygiene habits to prevent the gingivitis from returning.
Maintaining Healthy Gums With Bristol Dental Clinic
Bristol Dental Clinic is your partner in lifelong gum health. We are a proactive, comprehensive, and highly experienced clinic. Our team of dental professionals perform a variety of treatments and procedures to keep your mouth, teeth, and gums healthy and free from disease and infection. From routine checkups to gingivitis treatment, we are here to help.
To book an appointment for gingivitis treatment or for more information, call Bristol Dental Clinic at 866-673-2109 or contact us here.
