Gingivitis is a form of gum disease that occurs around the base of your teeth around the gum area. Gingivitis is characterized by a condition where the protective layer of the surface of the gums is inflamed. In severe cases, it leads to bleeding between the gums and the tooth. Gingivitis may lead to tender and swollen red gums, particularly when you brush.
To know if you’re suffering from gingivitis, here are the things that you should be on the lookout for:
- Consistent bad breath
- Gums that easily bleed
- Swollen, red, or tender gums
- Separating or loose permanent teeth
- Painful chewing
If you’re suffering from any of the things mentioned above, it’s recommended that you look for a dentist in Bankstown or in your area that can help you recover from gingivitis. In line with this, here are the things that could help you reduce the possibilities of gingivitis:
Brush Twice a Day
It’s a basic necessity that you brush your teeth at least twice a day—once as you wake up and once before you fall asleep. If you could, it’s recommended to brush your teeth after eating lunch as well to keep your teeth healthier and stronger.
You might be wondering why brushing your teeth is involved with your gums’ health. Plaque usually forms on the base of your teeth where they touch your gums. While your teeth are exterior bones and might take a while to experience harm, your gums aren’t—plaque contains millions of bacteria that will cause damage to your gums when not removed immediately.
Aside from removing plaque buildup, regular brushing of your teeth also helps in reducing your toothaches. Toothaches happen when there’s an inflammation on the central portion of the tooth called pulp. Pulp is what connects your tooth to your gums and has nerve endings making it sensitive to pain. When not being cared for by brushing your teeth regularly, you’re more likely to develop toothaches.
Floss
While it may seem like a superfluous add-on to brushing your teeth, flossing is an important part of your daily oral hygiene routines. If you brush your teeth but do not floss to get in between them, then you will be leaving food particles on your teeth. Food particles build up on your teeth over time, and they will create more plaque and decay.
Dentists have recommended everyone to floss at least once a day. There’s a proper way of flossing your teeth which allows you to not harm your gums which might lead to bleeding.
Flossing helps to remove the food in between your tooth that cannot be removed with the use of a toothbrush alone. You must try to remove any plaque build-up as it’s the number one cause of gingivitis. Aside from developing gingivitis, having a plaque build-up also results in developing tartar on your teeth, which is difficult to remove on your own and requires a dentist’s intervention.
Flossing helps you keep a healthy set of teeth and healthy gums. People often forget to take care of their gums and focus on the appearance of their teeth instead. As much as pearly whites are amazing to look at, healthy gums are amazing as well for keeping your teeth healthy and strong.
Use Fluoride
You should be using fluoride-rich toothpaste and mouthwash. Fluoride is known to help prevent the formation of cavities and strengthen your teeth. Along with this, fluoride is also helpful in preventing the growth of any harmful oral bacteria that might cause tooth decay and other oral diseases.
Brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste goes hand in hand as it helps to remove plaque with the brush and protect it with your fluoride toothpaste. When purchasing toothpaste, you must choose a toothpaste that has fluoride and has the ADA seal of acceptance to ensure its authenticity. This will guarantee that it’ll help you have a healthier set of teeth and gums that you will greatly thank for in the long run. Plus, you’ll be getting compliments from your dentist!
Regular Dental Cleanings
If you’re just visiting your dentist when something goes wrong, you should consider visiting your dentist more often for regular cleanings. Dental cleaning helps to improve your oral hygiene by cleaning out any plaques that you have missed—even with regular flossing and brushing your teeth. Along with this, it helps to brighten your smile because it reduces built-up stains on your teeth. Please note that this is not an alternative to teeth whitening as it does not whiten your teeth but brightens it. Along with brightening your teeth, dental cleaning helps to reduce your bad breath by maintaining proper oral hygiene and prevent or reduce the chances of getting cavities.
Dental cleanings should be done twice a year, so it’s fairly low maintenance as far as healthcare treatment goes.
Quit Smoking
Aside from keeping your lungs healthy and strong, quitting smoking also helps to keep your gums healthy as well.
Smoking causes you to develop more plaque and tartar on your teeth, making you more prone to gingivitis and other diseases of the mouth. Along with this, smoking also causes bad breath and yellowed teeth, which can not only be unattractive to look at but it can also lead to poor oral health. In line with this, smoking also takes a great part in leading you to oral cancer and interferes with your blood circulation.
Smoking also delays the healing of your mouth from any oral surgery and gum treatments that you have done, making the recovery process difficult and potentially leading to infection if they are treated without sufficient and proper care.
Not only your gums are harmed when you smoke—it also harms your lungs and the people around you by inhaling secondhand smoke. When you quit smoking, you’ll be able to improve your health and reduce your possibilities of any diseases in the long run.
Use Mouthwash
Aside from brushing and flossing your teeth regularly, you should also consider using mouthwash as it helps to improve your overall health.
The use of mouthwash helps to give you fresh breath, avoid plaque, remove any particles that you were not able to remove with brushing and flossing your teeth, and prevent cavities from forming, especially if the mouthwash is infused with fluoride. It has been recommended that the use of a therapeutic mouthwash helps to slow down the development of tartar and prevent or reduce you from having gingivitis.
If you know that you’re prone to having gingivitis, there is a ton of mouthwash available on the market that is targeted to protect you from gingivitis and that would be your best option.
Use Soft Bristles
As much as you want to brush all of the plaques away from your teeth, it’s highly recommended that you use soft bristles, especially if your gums bleed easily when you brush your teeth. Bleeding happens because your gums are more sensitive and fragile—thus, the bleeding occurs.
At all costs, preventing your gums from bleeding should be prioritized to keep them healthy and strong. When your gums bleed and there are a ton of plaque build-up around your tooth’s base, it can be more prone to a bacterial infection that might lead to gingivitis.
If you’re too worried that soft bristles may not clean your teeth well enough, studies have shown that soft bristles do a great job at cleaning your teeth similarly to medium bristles and they cause less damage making it a great way to go.
Conclusion
Taking care of your oral hygiene is a must as it helps to keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong. If you suspect that you are infected with gingivitis, you should contact your dentist immediately to have it cured and do necessary procedures as well. This can include tooth extraction as it can be a solution for your gum disease. Leaving gingivitis untreated will cause more harm and will probably not heal on its own. That is the main reason why you should always maintain proper hygiene by brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day and you can accompany it with the use of mouthwash.
The use of dental floss and mouthwash alone will never be a substitute for brushing your teeth. They’re used as an additive in protecting your teeth that helps to remove plaque build-up.
Many people have considered that using dental floss and mouthwash every time that you finish brushing your teeth is unnecessary and just an added waste. While they are not required, they are considered as an added protection for your oral health. It’s not required to floss, but it’s highly encouraged as it gives a ton of benefits for your teeth that you will surely thank for in the long run.
No matter how tiring it is to maintain your pearly whites, it would never hurt to keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong that can help you be free from any diseases in the future.
