The Importance Of Maintaining Healthy Gums
With the focus of home dental care often being on the teeth, it is also very important that your gums don’t get neglected!
Everyone wants a great looking smile, especially these days with the wide range of cosmetic dental treatments that are available to give you that finishing touch to a winning smile. Although some people might feel that cosmetic dentistry isn’t really important, we can see by the reaction of our patients who have had these treatments that it is; often for their confidence and self esteem as well as the way that they look. One other advantage of having really nice looking teeth is that people do tend to take more care of them to keep them that way.
Cleaning your teeth regularly is very important and should be maintained no matter how your teeth look. Anyone who has suffered a bad toothache due to tooth decay will understand why! There is one aspect of our oral health regime that sometimes takes second place though and that is care of our gums. To neglect our gums is to make a big mistake and we will discuss that in today’s blog.
Why healthy gums?
If you don’t keep your gums clean and healthy, quite a number of problems can arise. Although not all cases of gum disease have symptoms, most people will experience at least one of the following.
- Sore gums
- Inflamed gums
- Bad breath
- Discomfort when biting
- Bleeding gums
- Pus between the teeth
- Redness of the gums
These are just some of the possible clues that your gums have become infected, although, as mentioned, gum disease can occur without obvious symptoms so checking this with the hygienist is important.
Gingivitis
The earliest stage of gum disease is called gingivitis. Symptoms may be milder at this point and the problem can usually be rectified and managed without too much difficulty. Sometimes this can be done simply by improving the way that you clean your teeth, making sure to get the bristles of the toothbrush into the gum line where bacteria can collect. Adding the use of dental floss to clean between your teeth is probably one of the most significant things that you can do to improve your oral health and help prevent gum disease from occurring.
Finally, you will need to see the oral hygienist at Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre, your long-established Epsom dentist. We will discuss this shortly.
Periodontitis
If you don’t have treatment for gingivitis, the problem will almost certainly worsen and a more severe stage, known as periodontitis, is likely to occur. When it reaches this stage, things become much more serious and the very survival of your teeth is at stake. This is because while gingivitis infects the gums, periodontitis also starts to affect the roots of the tooth and the bone in which the roots sit. As the bacteria starts to damage the bone and degrade it, the roots will start to work loose and you may find that your teeth become wobbly. Eventually, without intervention, you are likely to suffer from tooth loss because of this.
It is important to say that while intervention at this stage in the form of a deep clean or root planing is available, it is not guaranteed to work and there is no substitution for preventative care of your gums.
Seeing the dental hygienist
Most of you will already see your dentist on a six monthly basis, but probably far fewer of you do the same with the hygienist. This is a mistake and making sure that you do so is a great way of maintaining a healthy mouth.
When you see the hygienist they will discuss your oral health with you and may recommend some changes to your routine. For example, they may demonstrate how to floss between your teeth and may also discuss the significant impact that smoking or drinking too much can have on your gums.
Finally, they will provide you with a non-invasive treatment known as a ‘scale and polish’. This is a great way of removing hardened bacteria and minerals which stick to the teeth and gum line and which home brushing alone will not remove. In addition to improving your mouth health, you are likely to find that your mouth looks and feels fresher and also, as the treatment removes some surface staining, that your teeth look nicer and cleaner than before.
Looking after your gums isn’t hard to do and following the advice above is a good place to start. Failing to do so, on the other hand, could lead to the loss of teeth that you will need to replace. While there are now excellent substitutes such as dental implants, it is much better to keep your own teeth where possible.
If you would like to discuss your gums with us, please call the Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre on 01372 720136 and arrange your appointment with our Epsom based dental hygienist.