Blog
Gum Disease & How to Maintain Healthy Gums
Screening for gum disease is an important part of your routine dental examination. Gum disease is extremely common and is a condition where gums become swollen, sore or infected. A lot of us have gum disease in some way, shape or form, and most people experience it at least once.
If you do have gum disease, your gums may bleed when you brush your teeth and you may have bad breath. This early stage of gum disease is called gingivitis. Other signs of gum disease include: consistently bad taste, separating or loose permanent teeth, gums that easily bleed, gums that are swollen, red, or tender and gums that have pulled away from your teeth.
Gum disease is caused by a build-up of plaque on your teeth, plaque is a sticky substance and contains bacteria. Some bacteria in plaque can be harmful to your gums. If you don’t remove plaque by brushing your teeth, it can build up and irritate your gums.
You can prevent gum disease by maintaining a good level of oral hygiene. This includes brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing regularly. Even if you are cavity free and have the whitest teeth in town, you could still get gum disease. Since it usually doesn’t involve pain, most people don’t realise there is anything wrong.
You can also develop periodontitis which is an advanced form of gum disease. If this is left untreated it can ruin the gums, bones and tissues connected to your teeth.
Below are some ways in which you can keep your gums healthy, as well as the rest of your mouth:
Floss
Flossing at least once a day helps to remove plaque and food that beyond the reach of a toothbrush. It doesn’t matter when you floss, and you can do it more than once a day if you want too!
Regular Dental Cleaning
At Shifnal Dental Care, we can detect early gum disease symptoms if you see us on a regular basis. This way, your symptoms can be treated before they become more serious.
Quit Smoking
Smoking is massively associated with the onset of gum disease. Smoking weakens your immune system and therefore makes it harder to fight off a gum infection.
Brush twice a day
Brushing after every meal helps remove the food plaque trapped between your teeth and gums. You should also scrub your tongue is it can harbour bacteria too. Consider an electric toothbrush to help reduce gingivitis and plaque more than manual brushing.
For more information and to book an appointment with us at Shifnal Dental Care, contact us on 01952 460119 and speak to Katherine, our Treatment Co-Ordinator.
Share this post: