How to Manage Gum Disease

Symptoms of Gum Disease

Inflammation of the gums and mouth – soreness, bleeding, and/or redness. Another common symptom is bed breath (a.k.a. Halitosis), and / or a bad taste in the mouth. Other signs of gum disease include shaky or loose teeth, receding gums, and spaces between the teeth and gums.

Gum disease is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, pregnancy complications, and diabetes. The bacteria that are the root cause of gum disease can move swiftly from gums into the bloodstream, where they can create problems throughout your body. Foods that are high in sugar content can lead to tooth decay, but their effect on gum disease is to be proved.

Causes of Gum Disease

Gum disease is caused by bacteria growing in the mouth. These bacteria normally begin growing on particles of food left in the mouth. The infection then continues to grow, causing inflammation and breakdown of the gums and mouth

Your best bet to avoid gum disease is to brush and floss. Daily brush twice. Brush for at the most 3 minutes. Brushing for longer time weakens the tooth enamel and causes weakening of teeth. But, brushing for less than one minute does no good. Brushing and flossing after meals is found to be effective.

Scraping of the tongue is also important to remove bacteria.

Electric tooth brushes also can help clean teeth effectively but they cannot take the place of flossing.

Also, look for a mouthwash that fights gingivitis and reduces plaque.

You need a dentist who can spot problems when they are small, not when they become big issues.

To treat gum disease, your dentist may remove bacteria and plaque from under the gum line with a technique called scaling and root planing.

Supplements to avoid gum disease: Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus all help build strong bones, and will aid in keeping your teeth healthy too. Add them to your diet, or try them in supplement form. And if you suffer from periodontal disease, ask your dentist about CoQIO, which may promote cell growth and heal gum disease.

Using an anti-plaque toothpaste also can be useful.

Eating more fruits and vegetables is also found to be useful.

The Importance of Water: Drinking the right amount of water per day is very important. Drinking water regularly keeps the mouth hydrated and also cleans any small food particles left in between teeth. Without water, the mouth becomes dehydrated and bacterial thrive on the food particles left in the mouth. This results in build up of plaque. Plaque, when it is there for longer periods of time, becomes tartar and will affect gums and you will get gingivitis which is swollen gums or bleeding from the gums. Hence, don’t let the mouth dehydrated, take water at regular intervals.

Mouth will become automatic dehydrated when we are travelling by aeroplane. Hence, during the course of journey also, proper amount of water needs to be taken.

Water needs to be taken irrespective of the fact that we need to visit the loo more often than not.

Main causes of gum disease:

• We do not change our toothbrush when required. Ideally, toothbrush should be changed every 15 days.
• Using toothpicks more often may damage our gums and may cause gum disease.
• Not using proper toothpaste.
• Not visiting the dentist when required, i.e., at least twice a year.
• Any fall or blow upon the face in the region of the mouth and cheeks.
• Chewing any item for long times.
• Intake of too much sugary items.
• Smoking causes gum disease.
• Diabetes increases the chances of having gum disease.
• Having a weak immunity also increases the chances of having gum disease.