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The Importance of Including Your Gums in Your Oral Hygiene Regimen

April 28, 2015

Filed under: Oral Hygiene,Prevention — lrfamily @ 1:38 pm

A lot of people know that it’s important to take care of their gums as well as they take care of their teeth. What a lot of people don’t know is how to make sure that they’re doing that.

But first, why are your gums so important? One reason is that periodontal disease (gum disease/gingivitis) is present in more than 50% of adults, and a lot of those people don’t even know that they suffer from it. Periodontal disease is the leading cause of bone loss which can lead to teeth falling out. It’s amazing the amount of people that ignore the signs of gingivitis, most commonly bleeding gums. People will go day in and day out spitting blood into the sink after they brush their teeth and ignore it without talking with a professional. If one day you started bleeding from inside your ears, would you ignore it? Probably not. Bleeding gums are no different and should not be taken lightly.

Now here are some easy ways to take better care of your gums right now:

1.) Let’s start with something you may be familiar with. It helps to use a soft bristled toothbrush. While you want to get your teeth good and clean, you don’t want to rough them up. Use small circular motions too—that helps to angle your toothbrush so that the bristles are right underneath the gum line.

2.) A majority of people don’t brush for the proper length of time. Most people will brush for a total of one minute, which is hardly enough time to care for your teeth and your gums. It’s recommended to brush two times a day for two minutes each time.

3.) Everyone knows that flossing is important to oral hygiene, but not everyone does it. And some of the people that do are only caring for the gunk between their teeth. You must also floss your gums! It will be tender at first and you may experience some bleeding, but be tenacious. Your gums will toughen up after a few times (as they become healthier) and won’t bleed after repetition. People don’t realize that most areas of gum disease and/or bone loss take place between the teeth. This is why flossing is imperative.

4.) A common mistake with flossing is how people go about it. You should be wrapping the floss around your middle fingers so that your index fingers are free (along with yours thumbs) to adequately guide the floss around your teeth and slightly under your gums. This helps with having more control so you can get to those tough to reach places without injuring yourself or your gums. You should be doing this at least once every other day.

5.) Lastly, avoid using mouthwashes with alcohol in them. The alcohol tends to dry out your mouth and gums, and everyone knows that dry anything can lead to uncomfortable pain and bleeding.

If you can follow these steps to properly care for your gums as well as your teeth, you will notice that your gums will lighten in color, the smell of your breath will become less of a concern, and you won’t be spitting blood into your sink. It’s also important to get your teeth professionally cleaned at least twice a year. That’s what we are here for! Click here to make an appointment today!

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