Worried About Bleeding Gums?
If you’ve recently started to notice your gums bleeding when you brush your teeth, then you might be panicking, but don’t! Just because your gums are bleeding doesn’t mean your teeth are about to fall out! We promise. We at Linda Greenwall see gum disease on the daily, and despite our best efforts and those of our dental colleagues’ allies, we are still a nation plagued by gum disease. So, if you’re worried about bleeding gums, then read on because, with the assistance of our dentist in Hampstead, we have put together all you need to know about bleeding gums, gum disease and how to fix them.
Why Do Gums Bleed?
We typically consider bleeding to be a bad thing, and yes, of course, when we cut ourselves and bleed, it’s bad! But our gums bleed during gum disease as a way for our bodies to protect our teeth. It works the same way as when we bang our knees and get bruised; the blood is there to protect the area. However, when the area is left untreated, the body begins to find and kill off the area that it doesn’t want; this is similar to when any other part of the body becomes infected, the body wants to get rid of the infected area in order to cure itself.
Why Do We Develop Gum Disease?
For the most part, the majority of patients we see develop gum disease due to a lack of good oral hygiene. Oral hygiene is what we call cleaning, and it’s the single most important thing when it comes to your teeth. Without proper, consistent and all-around good cleaning every day, it's highly unlikely that you will go a lifetime without developing gum disease since even the smallest build-up of plaque can cause early signs of gum disease to develop.
How We Cure Gum Disease
You might have heard of an old wives’ tale that gum disease isn’t actually curable, but we want to stress that this just isn’t true. If gum disease is caught early enough, our dentist in Hampstead can work alongside a dental hygienist to clean away the infection and prevent further gum disease from developing in the future. Only a good, deep clean using the correct tools will do enough to get rid of the bacteria and acids causing stress on the gums.
Beyond the initial cleaning, you’ll need to make sure you take up better cleaning practices; this can sometimes mean addressing the size and type of toothbrush you use, changing your brushing techniques or introducing flossing into your daily routine. Although at first, new processes can feel time-consuming and arduous, you must commit to keeping on top of your oral health since otherwise, you could risk repeatedly becoming reinfected with diseases. The long-term implications of gum disease can include decay and eventual tooth loss, both of which can easily be avoided if the above steps are taken seriously
If you have further questions on gum disease, please don’t hesitate to contact our dentist in Hampstead for all the information you need.
