Your gum health is just as important to your overall health as what you eat, how much you exercise, and how often you see your doctor. Poor gum health is the main reason why adults over 35 lose their teeth. Poor gum health starts with poor oral hygiene and quickly moves to gingivitis, which is the first stage of gum disease and eventual tooth loss. But keeping gum health in good shape is easy, so make September a special month by focusing on keeping your gums healthy.
Are you ready to make an appointment for gum care to make sure your gums are healthy? Call the Northern New Jersey office today for a convenient time to come in.
How Do I Keep My Gums Healthy?
The best news is that you don’t need special tests or tools to keep your gums healthy. The same things you do to take care of your teeth also take care of your gums. You should have everything you need already, which are:
- A good toothbrush with soft bristles and the right size for your mouth
- A good quality toothpaste
- Dental floss: Traditional floss, floss picks, or a flosser work equally well
- Mouthwash against germs, if you want
The ADA says that you should brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day, preferably after every meal or snack. If you brush and floss only twice daily, once should be just before bedtime. Be sure to brush your tongue as well. Even though this sounds and feels strange, it can reduce the number of bacteria that stays on your tongue, gums, and teeth overnight.
Mouthwash is also good to use at night because it can get rid of any bacteria that your other methods didn’t get. After your nightly routine, don’t drink anything but plain water. If you do, you’ll defeat the point of the routine.
How Can We Identify Gum Disease?
Gingivitis is the first stage of gum disease, and it usually shows up as a little bit of bleeding when you brush or floss your teeth. But there are also other signs of gum disease, like:
- You might have bad breath or a strange taste in your mouth
- When your gums pull away from your teeth
- Spots on your gums that are red and swollen
- Pus or an infection between your teeth
- Loose teeth or strange gaps between them
- A little bit of blood when you brush or floss
- Gums that are red, swollen, or painful
If you have any of these signs, you should make an appointment with a dentist right away. Even if it’s not gum disease, there’s something wrong, or you wouldn’t have the signs.
Your dentist will look at your teeth and gums to see if there is something wrong. If so, they’ll figure out what’s wrong and help you come up with a treatment plan.
Is Gum Disease Progressive?
There are three stages of gum disease. The first one can be fixed, so any damage can be taken back. The other two won’t go away, and you’ll have permanent damage that can’t be fixed. Gum disease has three stages:
Gingivitis: This is the first stage of gum disease and is usually caused by not taking care of your teeth well enough. Sometimes all it takes is a few nights of not flossing or brushing well, which lets bacteria build up on your teeth and gums. Sometimes tartar builds up because you don’t brush your teeth well enough. Tartar is a very hard substance that irritates your gums and can only be taken off by a dentist.
At the gingivitis stage, gum disease can still be treated and the damage can be fixed. If you notice small amounts of blood when you brush your teeth, you probably have gingivitis. Since it’s easy to treat now, go to the dentist right away and ask for advice on how to keep it from happening again. Since it’s easy to treat now, go to the dentist right away and ask for advice on how to keep it from happening again.
Periodontitis: This is the second stage of gum disease, and it happens when gingivitis was left untreated. Tar won’t just go away by itself. It needs help from a professional. When you have periodontitis, your gums and jawbone are hurt for good. Even though the disease can’t be cured, it can be stopped from getting worse. Damage can be repaired but not reversed.
Antibiotics, scaling, and root planing can stop the disease from getting worse, and reconstructive dentistry or oral surgery can help you use your teeth and gums the way you used to. Even if you already have periodontitis, you should take care of it right away so that it doesn’t get worse and turn into advanced periodontitis. Don’t ignore it just because there is no way to fix it.
Advanced Periodontitis: Gum disease has three stages. The third and last stage is called advanced periodontitis. If you’ve let gum disease get this far, the damage to your jawbone and face structure will be permanent, and the ligaments that hold your teeth in place will have been destroyed. Most or all of your teeth will have fallen out, and it may look like your face has melted away. At this point, the only ways to fix your gums and teeth so that they work and look good are through reconstructive dentistry and oral surgery. If you want implants, you might need bone grafts and other expensive and invasive procedures to fix the structure of your face and jaw and let you use them again.
It’s truly tragic that so many people allow their gums and teeth to deteriorate to the point of advanced periodontitis, but dentists see hundreds of cases like these every year.
Gum disease not only changes the way your mouth looks and works, but it can also hurt your major organs. Research has shown that gum disease is linked to a number of serious health problems, such as:
- Cancer
- Dementia
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- High Blood Pressure
- Stroke
This is because the membranes and tissues in your mouth are thin and porous. This lets everything you eat or drink get into your bloodstream and go to your major organs. Remember that anything you put in your mouth, even bacteria, will spread to other parts of your body.
Do You Need to See a Dentist?
Call Dr. Motiwala Dental Clinic & Implant Centre at and make an appointment if you want to keep your gums healthy and your body in the best shape possible. Oral cancer is one of the fastest-growing diseases in the country, so we recommend that all of our patients age 18 and up get screened for it. The test is painless and does not hurt. During your exam, your dentist will check you out.
Call us right away to set up a time. We’re excited to talk to you and work with you.
Dr. Motiwala in International Press
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