Your gums might not seem like anything special, but gum health is actually really important. If your gums aren’t healthy, it can cause tooth decay, and other problems as well. it even ties into your overall health too. Here, we’ll dive into the importance of gum health, and steps you can take in order to have better gum health that lasts a long time.
The Gums—why they’re Important
Your gums might not seem like much, but they’re actually some of the most important parts of our mouth.
They anchor your teeth and are what keep the bone in the jaw protected. They cover the bottom layers of the teeth, the roots. With their security your teeth stay.
It’s more than just that though. your gums are also intimately connected to other parts of the body. If garbage gets in them, it can seep into other parts of the body, putting you at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other problems.
Basically, without healthy gums you not only lose all your teeth, but you compromise your entire oral health system, which is a big problem.
The types of Gum Disease
When you brush your teeth, your gums shouldn’t bleed. But if they do, that’s a sign they might be unhealthy. This is something that you should be mindful of, because if you notice it, talk to your dentist right away.
There is gingivitis, which is inflammation of the gums. This is where the bleeding and swollen gums come from, and generally is simple to fix.
But, as it goes on, you have periodontitis, which is a more advanced form of this. with periodontitis, there’s a chance of the teeth becoming loose and falling out, creating a lot of trouble for your oral health.
In general, you don’t want any of this, but know that periodontitis is preceded by gingivitis.
How to maintain healthy gums
There are certain ways to make sure that your gums are taken care of.
First, your daily habits. I know this should be obvious, but brushing and flossing is the most effective way to protect your gums. It gets rid of the plaque and debris, ultimately protecting the structures from further damage. Simple enough, right?
Your diet is another place you should look at. Most don’t talk about it, but the diet you have plays a huge part in your gum health. Sugars and starches, while they taste good, end up causing more harm than good as the damage grows. Bacteria in the mouth feed off it, so if you give that to them, then it grows. This contributes to decay of not just the tooth, but the gums too.
Eating healthy foods such as greens and reducing the sugar you have is a great place to start. If you want to have a sweet treat, be sure to have water, and brush thirty minutes after consumption.
When to Get Treatment
If you haven’t been seeing your dentist, you should go see them. They can clean off the tartar, which is a calcified plaque.
They can also give you treatment for gum disease. A deep cleaning or dental scaling is the first thing they’ll do. Usually these are painless, but you can ask for a little more to help ease the pain.
In serious situations, they might have to extract the teeth if it gets too bad, and then put in a bridge or implant.
Overall, gum disease is something that isn’t a joke, and you should be mindful of your gum health, taking care of it constantly.
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