If you are concerned about oral health, you can not ignore your gums. Your gums are just are as important as your teeth.
Even if your teeth are shiny, gum disease can still affect your beautiful smile. Let’s check what you need to worry about when it comes to gum health.
Why is gum health so important?
When you face oral problems related to your teeth, it can be really painful and you know that you have to take care of it. But this scenario is not the same for a gum issue.
In most cases, people don’t even notice they are suffering from gum disease. It is painless, and therefore difficult to notice.
How can your gum be damaged?
Gingivitis
Sometimes plaque builds up on the gum line along with your teeth. Plaque is a sticky thin film made from sugar and bacteria.
The bacteria in your mouth feed on sugar and might cause oral problems such as infections of the gum. This is called gingivitis.
Gingivitis symptoms:
- swollen gum
- cause inflammation
- redness of gum
- bleeding
- tenderness
Although your gum is affected with the infection, the bone and tissues keep your teeth held strongly and are still healthy. Hence, the damage caused by gingivitis can be reversed.
Periodontitis
Gingivitis is not the only problem you should worry about when it comes to gum health. Some gum diseases affect the bones and muscles, such as periodontitis.
It can damage the bones that keep your teeth in order. If the condition is not treated immediately, it can harm both your gums and your teeth.
As the problems progress, things might get far worse. You may find it hard to eat or bite food. In the later stage, the tissues that hold your teeth may be completely damaged. At this point, you will need to remove your teeth to protect your mouth from further damage.
Since gum diseases can cause such a disaster, you need to keep your gums healthy.
Periodontitis symptoms:
- Vulnerable gums that bleed easily
- Continuous bad taste or smell from mouth
- Swollen, tender, or red gums
- Loose teeth that could come off
- Gums that pull away from teeth
6 ways to keep your gums healthy
As you can see, gum diseases can cause serious oral problems. But don’t worry, there are ways to prevent gum disease. Here are 6 methods to keep your gums healthy.
1-Floss
Plaques are a sticky thin layer on your gum lining and teeth. Flossing is an effective method to remove plaques and keep your mouth clean.
To keep your mouth healthy, floss at least once a day. It helps remove any food remains that your toothbrush failed to get rid of.
2-Regular dental cleaning
You might think this is not necessary but many people suffer because they think this way. Even if you brush your teeth every day, some areas in your mouth can be missed out from cleaning.
Hence plaque develops in these areas, leading to critical gum disease. An expert can detect anything like this in advance and treat you before the problem develops further.
So, a regular dental cleaning is necessary to keep your teeth and gums healthy for a long time.
3-Say goodbye to smoking
This might be heartbreaking for many, but if you want your gums and teeth healthy, you need to quit smoking. It can promote many gum diseases as well as weaken your immune system. Hence, your body will have a hard time fighting off gum infections.
Apart from that, smoking also lowers body repairing mechanisms. So, once your gum is damaged, there is a chance you won’t get it fixed.
4-Brush twice a day to fight off bacteria
Plaque is formed from the food left in between your teeth and corners of your mouth. Hence, you should brush your teeth after every meal and get rid of that unwanted food from the mouth.
When you brush, make sure you scrub your tongue as well. Bacteria may remain on your tongue and encourage plaque development later on.
Make sure you use a toothbrush with soft bristles. Your toothbrush should fit in your mouth comfortably. Sometimes excess brushing can damage teeth enamel. Hence soft bristle toothbrushes are recommended.
For better results, you can choose an electric toothbrush. These are better at cleaning corners of the mouth that manual cleaning cannot reach.
Change the toothbrush after every 3 months, or when you notice the bristles are worn out.
5-Use a fluoride toothpaste
When you are going to buy your toothpaste, you have tonnes of options to choose from. Most of them offer additional herbs and/or chemicals to help you maintain oral health.
One of the best options is to choose a toothpaste that contains fluoride in it. It keeps your breath fresh, lowers the chances of gingivitis, and makes your teeth whiter.
However, when you are at a shop, you will notice that there are many options to choose among fluoride-containing toothpaste as well. What should you do then?
Look for a toothpaste that is approved by the ADA. Once you have got these two points right, you can go for your favorite flavors or additional herbs for toothpaste.
6-Use a therapeutic mouthwash
Mouthwash can keep your mouth fresh. So, you can try mouthwash along with brushing and flossing teeth. By using a mouthwash regularly, you can reduce the development of plaque and tartar in the mouth.
If you are flossing, brushing, and using mouthwash regularly, it can significantly improve your oral health according to ADA. Additionally, mouthwash can remove food particles that remain after a meal.
Mouthwash is not as effective in removing food as much as brushing or flossing. But regular mouthwash should still be added to your oral hygiene routine.
Final words
If you want to keep your gums healthy, you need to clean your teeth and whole mouth regularly, so plaques can not develop. There are three ways to do that:
- Brushing
- Flossing
- Mouthwashing
You always need to select high quality products when it comes to your toothpaste, mouthwash, and flossing products. Then, maintain a proper daily routine for your oral care. If you do so, you will avoid any gum problems like gingivitis or periodontitis, and you will keep a perfect healthy mouth!
