A bright, white smile is on most people’s list of dental must-haves. Your teeth make a big impact on your smile, but you mustn’t overlook the importance of healthy gum tissue when evaluating your smile. Most people don’t think about gum disease when it comes to their mouth, but good gum health is something that we all should be striving for.
Gum disease is when the supporting structures of your teeth are unhealthy. While your teeth may be bright and healthy, it’s possible that gum tissue and supporting bone around your teeth are not. Depending on the severity of gum disease, it often starts as inflamed gum tissue but further down the road it can lead to tooth mobility and eventually tooth loss.
While your genetic makeup can affect things like this, we also know that much can be done to prevent gum disease. Use these seven tips to keep your gum tissue healthy, and hopefully, you won’t have to deal with fighting gum disease in the future:
- Routine Dental Cleaning
- Routine Dental Checkups
- Floss Daily
- Brush twice a day
- Don’t Smoke
- Use Mouthwash
- Eat Healthily
1. Routine Dental Cleanings
Even if you are taking excellent care of your teeth every single day of the year, we at Radiance Family & Cosmetic Dentistry still recommend that you have routine dental cleanings.
Why? Those little pesky bacteria that are the main culprits in causing gum disease are microscopic. Even the best brushers and flossers still leave some bacteria behind. We recommend routine six-month cleanings to make sure things aren’t being left behind to cause more problems in the future.
2. Routine Dental Checkups
Along with dental cleanings, it is good to have routine dental checkups. At your dental checkups, our dentist checks for cavities and monitors for any problems in your gum health. Periodically, x-rays are taken, and this allows your dentist to check the bone levels around your teeth for any sign of gum disease.
3. Floss Daily
Breaking up bacteria colonies is a good defense mechanism for preventing gum disease. Any bacteria that sits for too long in one spot can become more destructive and cause more damage. Getting the floss into those hard-to-reach areas will help to keep your gum tissue healthy.
Studies show that flossing once a day can significantly reduce your risk of gum disease but also reduce your risk of heart disease!
4. Brush Twice A Day
Many people think brushing is only for keeping your teeth nice and fresh, but it’s also essential to keep your gum tissue healthy. Plaque likes to rest where your gum tissue meets your tooth. Lightly going over this area with your toothbrush will help keep your gum tissue healthy pink while also reducing your risk of root cavities.
5. Don’t Smoke
Smoking can rob your gum tissue of the oxygen it needs to stay healthy, which often masks tissue bleeding. This is problematic because many people think that their gum tissue is healthy because they don’t notice any bleeding. Meanwhile, they could have gum disease, and they aren’t even aware.
If you have gum disease, know that quitting smoking will also be very important before receiving treatment. Your gum tissue will not respond as well to treatment if smoking is still going on.
6. Use Mouthrinse
Swishing with mouth rinse daily can help eliminate some gum disease-causing bacteria in your mouth. Remember that mouth rinse should not be used as a substitute for brushing or flossing, as both of these steps are very important to your overall gum health.
7. Eat Healthily
Eating healthy is vital to anyone who wants to feel their best and live a healthy life. What you eat provides nutrition to every cell in your body, so it will impact the way you feel and look.
Eating nutritious food is very important to building and supporting a healthy immune system. Gum disease is an inflammatory disease. If your body is in a high inflammatory state, it will be much harder to keep periodontal disease under control.
At Radiance Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, we see preventing gum disease as a team effort. Daily, you can be doing things to maintain healthy teeth and good gum health. As your dental provider, we are committed to serving you with quality care and expertise. Evaluating your individual needs and delivering the best dental care for your specific needs is our priority. To schedule your next appointment, please call us at Radiance Family & Cosmetic Dentistry.
