Bleeding gums are not normal
In this blog post, I will go over what causes bleeding gums, what procedures your dentist can do to get you back to health & talk about some at home remedies that you can do right now.
At the end of this post you should have a better understanding about your oral health and hopefully make some better decisions at your next dental appointment.
So let's talk about how we can get your gums back to health!
Table of Contents
WHY DO MY GUMS BLEED?
Gum disease develops from a build-up of plaque around your teeth. This plaque is filled with tiny microscopic bacteria that will eventually cause your gums to swell up because of your body’s conditioned inflammatory process.
Your body is trying to fight off this bacteria but needs a little bit of help if there is alot of plaque hidden under your gums.
If you aren’t brushing & flossing consistently, this plaque will eventually harden and turn into those tough deposits that are typically scraped off by our amazing hygienists when you visit your dentist.
If you wait too long, early stages of gums disease develop into periodontitis & you may start lose that really important bone that keeps the teeth in your mouth. . . Teeth will become mobile and eventually need to be taken out.
So if your gums are bleeding don’t hesitate to visit your dentist and find some solutions that will get you back to health.
PERIODONTAL DISEASE DIAGNOSIS
Your dentist needs to properly diagnose what level of disease you have.We do this by asking a lot of questions, getting the appropriate imaging & taking important measurements.
Pocket depths are a really important measurement that your dentist takes during your examination. These are those numbers that the dentist reads out while measuring your pockets around the mouth.
A higher measurement like 5, 6, 7s usually indicates a more advanced gum disease.
These measurements along with the x-rays and clinical exam will allow your dentist to properly diagnose what type of treatment you need. . .
BLEEDING GUMS TREATMENT
A routine cleaning is essentially what it sounds like. It’s meant to maintain the health of your gums for patients that don’t have heavy build up or deep pockets.
We typically see these patient every 6 months to maintain their gum health over the course of their life.
A deep cleaning or (SRP) is indicated for patient that does has more advanced gum disease.
This procedure is usually accompanied with some anesthesia which allows the hygienist to comfortably clean all that build up under the gums & towards the end of the appointment we may rinse the pockets with an antibacterial agent.
In addition your dentist may prescribe a mouthwash (Chlorhexidine Gluconate), that helps decrease the amount of bacteria in the mouth.
There are surgical alternatives typically reserved for someone that has very serious periodontal disease where you’re losing a lot of bone . . .
Fortunately, our amazing gum surgeons have a variety of techniques that allow them to save teeth that were on their way to getting extracted . . .
HOME TREATMENT FOR BLEEDING GUMS
.When you brush your teeth in the morning and at night you want to be doing it at a 45 degree angle at the gum line.
A lot of my patients focus on the teeth themselves but forget that the majority of plaque sits between where the teeth and the gums meet.
Take your time to brush lightly at the gum line & focus on tooth at a time.
I don’t want to see any broad sweeping motions; so take your time to do it right and you’ll be on the path to health
Flossing is another super important step. A lot of our patients may have inflammation in areas in between the teeth since they aren’t doing everything they can to floss every single day.
The idea is to hug the floss around each side of each tooth and remove the acid producing plaque from your teeth. This will not only help your gums stay healthy but you can also prevent cavities from developing in between the teeth.
If you stay consistent with flossing you’ll be surprised to see how much better your gums look when your smiling for photos
PRODUCTS FOR PERIODONTAL DISEASE
Electric toothbrushes like the Sonicare and Oral B have helped a lot of my patients with severe gum disease. For these toothbrushes you just need to focus on angling the brush in the right orientation and letting the ultrasonic or oscillating motions do the work for you.
Water flossers use pressurized water clean around the gum line and restorations.
Its especially useful for people that have large spaces in between their teeth where the traditional string floss in inffective. Interproximal brushes is another supplemental tool that can be used for those with large gaps in between their teeth.
Use the largest inteproximal brush possible to properly clean those hard to reach areas. Finally, mouth rinses can help reduce the bacteria and inflammation in your mouth.
Hydrogen peroxide has antispetic properties that can help destroy bacteria in your mouth when used as rinse. In fact You can make your own mouth rinse solution by mixing 2 parts water to 1 part 3% hydrogen peroxide from the drug store.
Currently we use this combination to reduce the viral load in a patients mouth before starting treatment at o dental office. It doesn’t taste but it gets the job done.
PRODUCTS FOR HEALTHY GUMS
The Best Waterpik Waterflosser for Bleeding Gums
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding whether the Waterpik Water Flosser is better than traditional string floss when cleaning your teeth. Personally, I recommend traditional dental floss as the best way to clean in between the teeth in the morning and at night.
However, the Waterpik is an incredible supplemental tool to help reduce gum disease for those that have difficulty keeping their mouth healthy. It's a perfect tool for those with gum recession or with people that have a variety of dental implants in their mouth.
Countertop Waterpik
Cordless Waterpik
$
796.95
The Best Electric Toothbrush for Bleeding Gums
I am one of the biggest advocates of electric toothbrushes & have seen some incredible results from my patients who have made the choice to switch from a hand powered brush to an electric powered brush.
While brushing technique is the most important, many people need a little extra help to properly keep their gums and teeth healthy.
The extra vibrations / rotations from an electric toothbrush help remove the plaque that is left behind from a manual toothbrush & I can't tell you how many patients I've seen that have increased their oral health by making a change to an electric toothbrush.
Oral B Electric
Single tooth photography used in tandem w/ full frame Nikon Cameras
Sonicare Toothbrush
Most Versatile Lens for Dental Photography
That's it!
This is all you need to start taking incredible dental photos at your practice today. Purchasing proper dental photography equipment has changed the way I practice dentistry & is a must for anyone trying to elevate their dental career. The next section is dedicated to specialized accessories to aid in your photography techniques
PERIODONTAL DISEASE TREATMENT
Bleeding Gums Video
Full disclosure: I receive a commission if you purchase the dental products through my referral links. This helps me run this blog & I appreciate the support.
