Improving Gum Health As An Adult

As an adult, you’ve probably learned how important it is to take proper care of your teeth. If the dozens, if not hundreds, of commercials haven’t convinced you to brush your teeth two to three times a day and floss after, then it’s probably your early experience of having a tooth taken out because of early tooth decay. Either way, you’ve learned your lesson and you take good care of your teeth. But, that’s not exactly enough.

For starters, how often do you think about not just taking care of your teeth and gums, but actually improving the health of your gums?

Your gums are an important part of your smile, both in function and in esthetics, and it’s important that you take proper care of your gums.

Why Your Gums Are Important

Sure, you’ve heard of gum disease, but do you really know what it is? For starters, it’s an annoying bacterial infection. It’s usually caused by plaque buildup and it mainly affects your teeth, as well as everything around it, eventually leading to tooth loss if left unchecked, which happens quite often.

It matters that you know what gum disease is because it is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Also, it’s important that you know that because gum disease doesn’t cause pain early on, most people don’t know that they have gum disease.

Since it doesn’t cause any pain, it’s important that you get to know the different signs and symptoms of early gum disease, such as:

• Halitosis
• Bleeding and/or swollen gums
• Loose teeth
• Gums that have started to pull away from teeth, or receding gums

It’s important that gum disease is caught early on, because if not, it advances to what’s known as periodontitis. This condition is where gum disease becomes more dangerous because it can cause periodontal pockets, swollen gum tissues, loss of bone tissue and even tooth loss. There have also been recent studies showing a direct link between periodontitis and complications in the brain, heart and lungs.

Improving Gum Health

Of course, the first step to improving gum health is to practice good oral hygiene at home. Ideally, this should include brushing teeth for two minutes each time for twice a day and flossing at least once daily. Rinsing with mouthwash can also help as doing so helps rid your mouth of the bacteria and plaque that brushing and flossing wasn’t able to remove.

It may also help that you try to improve your brushing technique by following these tips:

• Make sure that you hold your toothbrush at a proper angle, which is 45-degrees towards the gum line.
• Instead of long strokes where you go from one end of your teeth to another, stick to short and gentle ones. Move your toothbrush back and forth, making sure that you brush both the front and back of your teeth, as well as the
• The tip of your toothbrush is quite useful in reaching and cleaning areas such as those behind your front and bottom teeth.
• Don’t forget to brush your tongue as well.

You should also never forget to visit your dentist every six months for professional checkups and cleanings.

Do all of these and your gum health and overall oral health is sure to improve in no time!

If you would like to improve your gum health, contact Creative Dimensions Dentistry in Castro Valley, CA at 510-881-8010 to schedule an appointment for a checkup today.