Top 6 Ways to Keep Your Gums Healthy

If you think of the perfect smile, do you imagine white teeth? Straight teeth? Moisturized lips? Those are all the most common elements of a heart-flutteringly beautiful smile. 

The type of show-stopping smile that weakens legs and sends pulses racing.

Many people don’t realize that no one’s idea of the perfect smile has damaged or bleeding gums either. Gums get consistently left out of the equation, and it’s time for the oral disparity to end.

Keeping your gums healthy will protect your teeth, so, technically, we are crossing two things off the list by paying extra attention to the one. Many people struggle with gum issues – from the folks with horrid breath down to the unfortunate ones with severe gum disease.

If you’re worried about your gum health, which you should be – here are the top six ways to keep your gums in tip-top shape:

Fluoride Toothpaste

Instead of being hoodwinked by advertising and retail tactics, take some time to learn more about toothpaste – particularly what you need from it. Speak to your dentist and find a toothpaste that contains fluoride and has the approval of the ADA.

Many toothpastes make bold claims, like whitening your teeth or repairing damaged enamel – most of those claims are grossly unfounded. All you need is toothpaste with fluoride, it helps to protect against decay by strengthening developing enamel. It also slows plaque production, and we all know how bad that stuff is!

Brush Twice Daily

Brushing your teeth helps to remove plaque from forming on your teeth. If you’ve ever had a glass of red wine or a rich meal and experienced that fuzzy feeling on your teeth – step up your brushing habits.

Plaque not only causes tooth decay and cavities; it also can be responsible for causing diseased gums. Brushing your teeth twice a day can go a long way to prevent that and stained teeth.

Don’t Brush Too Hard

Brushing your teeth too hard with a toothbrush with stiff, coarse bristles causes untold damage to your oral health. It wears down and damages your teeth and your gums, which not only causes gum recession, but it also leads to enamel wear.

If you have gum problems, are you often wondering “Is gum disease contagious?” And the truth is, it can be. Gum disease can get spread through kissing or sharing utensils. The good news is that it is typically treatable by a professional.

People with sensitive teeth know all about the problems linked to brushing too hard. If you somehow don’t know your strength or don’t always realize when you’re brushing too hard, you can either invest in an electric toothbrush with a built-in sensor or learn to hold your toothbrush with only two fingers.

Quit Smoking

Smoking is bad. We all know that. 

There are still almost 30 million adult smokers in America, so clearly not all of us believe that.

What a lot of people don’t know is that smoking is also bad for their oral health. That includes vaping and any other form of smoking or smoke-like activity. People who smoke are at a much higher risk of developing mouth cancer, tooth decay, and gum problems.

Speak to your doctor or dentist about quitting smoking.

Keep Your Blood Sugar in Check

Diabetes can lead to multiple health problems, including gum disease. It causes this through the increased amounts of glucose in saliva, which leads to more bacterial growth and an increase in plaque build-up.

If you’re diabetic and your blood sugar is not controlled, that will eventually lead to gum disease. That is worsened by the fact that diabetics take longer to heal from infections and open wounds.

Floss

Every dentist will tell you the same thing; brushing your teeth isn’t enough – flossing should be non-negotiable. Flossing removes the plaque below the gum line, which develops into tartar over time.

A toothbrush, no matter how fancy, can’t replace a small piece of floss. If your gums are prone to bleeding, you already need to talk to your dentist – just remember to ask for flossing tips while you are there.

So, gum disease is rarely a death sentence, and you don’t need to feel bad if you do have gum issues; you have the company of almost half of all Americans. That number increases with the age group – over 70% of senior citizens have mild, moderate, or severe gum disease.

The sooner your dentist identifies where you sit on that list, the sooner a plan can get developed to treat your gum disease.