Fresh Bites For A Fresh Start: New Year’s Guide To Healthy Gums
Katy, TX

One of the most crucial things you can do to guarantee that your mouth remains healthy for many years to come is to maintain optimal gum health. It’s crucial to keep your gums healthy and well-maintained because gum disease can irritate your mouth and even make eating uncomfortable!

We’ve included a few procedures for maintaining the health of your gums as well as some of the main reasons why gum disease occurs.

What Do Healthy Gums Look Like?

Before delving further into the methods of maintaining healthy gums, it’s crucial to understand what constitutes gum health. Often, individuals visit the dentist without realizing they may have gum disease. Patients frequently schedule appointments with Dr. Patrick Vuong, a dentist in Katy, TX, for routine cleanings or to address more evident tooth issues. The dentist can promptly detect gum disease during these visits.

Early signs of tooth decay and tooth pain may be indicative of gum disease. If left untreated, it can lead to significant health problems and potentially result in the deterioration of the jaw and other facial bones.

Potential Symptoms of Gum Disease

• Bleeding gums both during and after brushing your teeth
• Inflamed, red, or sensitive gums
• Persistent foul breath or an unpleasant aftertaste
• Receding gums
• Development of large spaces between teeth and gums
• Creation of large spaces between teeth
• Slipping or loose teeth
• Alterations in the fit of teeth when biting down

It’s not a guarantee that you have gum disease even if you have dealt with any of these problems. But be careful to discuss any of these symptoms with an oral hygienist during your subsequent dental visit.

Gingivitis vs. Periodontal (Gum) Disease

Gingivitis and periodontal (gum) disorders are the two main categories of gum diseases. The milder of the two, gingivitis, is frequently accompanied by swollen or irritated gum tissue. If you experience bleeding when brushing your gums, you may have moderate gingivitis. Changing a few daily habits will help you heal from gingivitis more quickly and easily—more on this later.

Since periodontal disease is more severe, it needs to be treated more carefully. If periodontal disease is not effectively treated and managed, it can result in gum disease, tooth loss, and other major health problems. Gum pockets, recession in the gum line, and decaying teeth or bones are indicators of periodontal disease. X-rays can help see the damage in more severe cases.

What Happens If You Have Gum Disease?

Gum disease can lead to tooth loss and other major health problems, such as lung and heart difficulties, if left untreated. In many respects, your mouth is the entrance to your body. Gum disease causes the accumulation of bacteria, which can then travel throughout your body. Bacteria can enter your bloodstream and then travel into your airways.

This is just one of the many reasons that keeping your mouth healthy is crucial and shouldn’t be disregarded in any way.

How to Heal Your Gums

Maintaining and restoring healthy gums is crucial to keeping your mouth functioning normally and enabling you to carry on with your life as usual. However, here are some treatment options for gingivitis and moderate periodontal disease that may develop in your gums.

Reversing Gum Disease

You will need to take action to eradicate your gum disease as soon as you become aware of it. You can begin by implementing lifestyle modifications and seeking treatment for gum disease. To begin treating your gum disease, your nearby dentist might be of great assistance. Eliminating sweets from your diet and beginning to wash your teeth every day are two adjustments you can make.

Promote Healthy Gums

Following the reversal and healing of your gum disease, you will need to begin maintaining and encouraging healthy gums through proper oral hygiene. This entails using fluoride-containing toothpaste to clean your teeth at least twice a day. Fluoride guarantees that you have natural protection against tooth decay and aids in the rebuilding of your tooth enamel. You should also use mouthwash and floss on a regular basis. While some mouthwash solutions can aid in the fight against gum disease, any mouthwash can help you maintain healthy gums.

Foods That Promote Gum Health

You should also consume a diet rich in calcium and vitamin C. Oranges and spinach are two excellent natural foods that can help your teeth restore their natural strength and enamel by supplying your body with vitamins and minerals. Additionally, vitamin C helps aid your body’s defence against any harmful germs that may begin to grow in your mouth.

Natural Ways to Maintain Gum Health

You can take certain at-home steps to assist preserve gum health in addition to following up with a balanced diet and taking medications for gum disease. Here are a few of the easy steps you can take to look and feel better in your mouth.

Common Ways to Keep Gums Healthy

• Floss regularly
• Routine cleanings for the teeth
• Brushing twice a day
• Fluoride toothpaste
• Mouthwash for restoration or prevention
• Drink lots of water

There are other approaches as well, such as following the previously discussed healthy, nutrient-dense diet. However, these are some of the greatest routines you can follow to maintain healthy teeth and gums.

Avoiding Gum Disease and Keeping Your Mouth Healthy

Naturally, once you have gum disease, you need to treat it. However, maintaining good oral hygiene and preventing gum disease are much more crucial! Below is a summary of the tried-and-true methods.

Brush for at Least 2 Minutes

We’re going to start with a quite apparent tip. Make sure to brush each side of your teeth for a minimum of one minute when doing so. Brushing your teeth for thirty seconds in each quadrant is an excellent method to go about it. Quip offers an electric toothbrush that will notify you when it’s time to brush a new area of your teeth, for those wishing to replace their current one.

Remember to gently brush your gums as well, since here is where a lot of individuals make mistakes when it comes to cleaning their teeth. This will support the cleanliness and health of your gums.

Floss Daily

There is now much discussion on the value of flossing. We are here to inform you that flossing is well worth the additional work.

You can remove any plaque buildup in the difficult-to-reach parts of your mouth by flossing in between your teeth.

Use Mouth Rinse Daily

You should at least use mouthwash every day if you’re not flossing. Gingivitis can be stopped in its tracks and your mouth kept healthy and free of disease by swishing an antiseptic mouthwash at least twice a day.

20 millilitres is the normal amount of mouthwash to use. It’s also advised that you swirl it around in your mouth for thirty seconds.

Eat a Healthy Diet

The fact that certain meals might help your gums function better than others may surprise you.

This is a short list of foods that are healthy for your mouth.

• Onions
• Leafy greens
• Green tea
• Peppers
• Citrus fruit
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Celery
• Carrots
• Apple

The health of gums has been connected to even some dairy products.

What Causes Gum Disease?

Gum tissue inflammation can be brought on by a variety of things, such as plaque buildup, tooth decay, or trauma. Plaque accumulates on teeth as a result of routine food consumption and acidic or sugary beverage consumption. When dental plaque transforms into acid and erodes your tooth enamel, it leads to decay and cavities. Although plaque normally accumulates, if it isn’t consistently eliminated, it may worsen.

Gum tissue damage can also result from clenching or grinding your teeth, from biting down too hard when wearing braces, or from oral injuries that cause gum inflammation. If this irritation is not treated, it can progress from a mild case of gingivitis to more advanced periodontal disease.

The following are the primary causes of gum disease:

Smoke Tobacco and Cigarettes

Aside from not cleaning your teeth at all, using tobacco is one of the worst things you can do for your gums.

The following negative side effects of tobacco use for dental health include:

• Bad breath
• Discolouration of teeth
• Decreased sense of smell and taste
• Increased likelihood of cavities
• Similar to cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products include at least 28 chemicals that cause cancer.
• Cancers of the tongue, lips, mouth, and pancreas have been linked to smokeless tobacco usage.
• Users who consume some of the toxins in the juice produced by using smokeless tobacco may also be at risk for cancers of the bladder, colon, oesophagus, and voice box.
• Your gums may get irritated by smokeless tobacco, which can lead to periodontal disease.
• To make smokeless tobacco taste better, sugar is frequently added, which raises the risk of dental disease.
• Sand and grit from smokeless tobacco usually wear down teeth and cause erosion and discomfort.

You can see that tobacco use poses a risk to more than just your gums.

The first line of defence against dangerous germs and poisons is the gum tissue surrounding your teeth. Regular use of tobacco products can raise your risk of developing gum disease in your mouth by as much as 50%.

Junk Foods That Are High in Sugar

Sugar makes your gums less healthy. Since calcium makes up the layers of dental enamel, sugar can lead to the mineral’s disintegration. Consuming a lot of sugar will eventually lead to serious issues with the health of your gums.

Dry Mouth

Insufficient saliva in the mouth increases the risk of gum disease, which negatively impacts gum health in general. The reason for this is the deficiency of moisture, which fosters the growth of bacteria and exacerbates gum disease. Not drinking enough water or sleeping with their mouth open are two of the most common causes of dry mouth.

Poor Oral Hygiene

It should come as no surprise that the main cause of gum disease is improper oral hygiene practices. Gum disease might increase if you don’t floss or brush your teeth on a regular basis. Maintaining good oral hygiene every day helps to keep your teeth white.

Regular Checkups for Cleanings

It’s crucial to make sure you visit a dentist in Katy for a cleaning and to get everything checked out every six months. In the event that gum disease has already begun to develop, it is imperative that the issue be addressed promptly. In this situation, a dentist can assist in beginning your treatment. You may be able to begin gum healing with just one treatment in many circumstances.

While many people have an aversion to dental visits, Cinco Ranch Dentist Smile Avenue offers painless oral exams. Our approach to every procedure, including routine oral exams, aims to be minimally intrusive. We are dedicated to establishing a comfortable, safe, and clean atmosphere for our patients during their dental visits. Don’t hesitate—reach out to us today and arrange a consultation with your nearby dentists in Katy, TX!