Health

How to Stop Bleeding Gums – Tips & Advice

Bleeding gums can be a sign of an underlying oral problem and is not something we should ignore. Such oral health issues can be caused by factors such as poor oral hygiene, injury, pregnancy, inflammation and brushing too vigorously. Noticing blood can be an alarming symptom that your oral health requires additional attention. To determine the most appropriate treatment for bleeding gums starts with identifying the key cause. To help ease bleeding gums, here are a few tips on how to care for your oral health:

Brush twice a day with fluoride paste

To protect against gum disease and promote gum health it is highly recommended to brush our teeth twice a day using fluoride toothpaste for no less than two minutes. For the best results, you should brush once in the morning before breakfast and once before bed. It is important to spit out the excess toothpaste after brushing and not to rinse our mouth with water. This ensures that the fluoride remains on our teeth for longer, aiding in extra protection. Brushing twice a day helps remove plaque that continuously builds leading to gum diseases and tooth decay.

 

Healthy lifestyle and diet

A healthy diet comes with its benefits, not only can it help maintain a healthy weight but also helps promote better oral hygiene. The first step to prevent bleeding gums is to reduce the intake of sugary foods and drinks. Lifestyle factors such as drinking alcohol and smoking negatively affect our mouth health, smoking causes a shortage of oxygen in the bloodstream thus preventing the infected gums from healing and can also cause inflammation, which is irritable and can cause gum disease. There are nutritional supplements such as vitamin A, magnesium, vitamin C and calcium that can be used to boost your system thus improving your gum health.

Check for trauma

Some cases of bleeding gums are not a result of dental issues, such as sports-related incidents or accidents. To help with such cases a simple cold compress on the bleeding area can do to help reduce any inflammation or swelling, which will eventually stop the bleeding. Conversely, if the bleeding persists you should visit a dentist.

Promote a good home routine

The easiest and most simple way to prevent and treat bleeding gums starts by looking after your oral health at home. You should brush your teeth using an electric toothbrush as it effectively brushes your teeth without causing any irritation to your gums. To clean between your teeth use interdental brushes or floss since a toothbrush cannot reach such areas. Plaque builds up in between teeth thus causing gum irritation and other gum problems. The first few times using interdental brushes or floss can be coupled with gum bleeding which is very common and after some time it should stop.

Reduce stress

Stress is associated with harming both our physical and mental state. It can cause gum inflammation which in turn can cause your gums to bleed. When your body is stressed your immune system can be impaired thus causing your body to stop fighting infections or heal at a lower rate which causes issues such as persistent bleeding gums. When stressed you can reduce your level of self-care thus a potentially bad oral routine and other dental-related issues.

 

Use a fluoride mouthwash

Fluoride mouthwash prevents the build-up of plaque on our gums and also helps clear out any debris in our mouth. It kills halitosis the bacteria responsible for causing bad breath thus freshens our breath. When considering purchasing a mouthwash choose the one containing fluoride to give your teeth extra protection. It is worth noting that gums are the foundation for healthy teeth and caring for them is equally important.

 

Visiting the dentist

For any oral health issue such as bad breath and bleeding gums visiting the dentist is the best port of call. If you experience persistent bleeding gums or any oral health issues do not wait for your routine appointment. To ensure that you take care of your teeth you should regularly visit your dentist to make sure your bleeding gums do not develop into something serious. Attending your hygienist appointments is extremely important because your hygienist will notice any changes and detect early symptoms of gum disease. Attending your appointments means your teeth and gums are cleaned and any plaque present removed.

You can start incorporating these tips one by one and eventually stop your bleeding gums. The above tips and advice will go a long way to ensure that you live an all-around healthy lifestyle as well as taking care of your gums.

About the author

David Evans

David is Editor-in-chief.

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