21 Sep 2018 Tips for Healing Bleeding Gums
Do your gums bleed when you brush your teeth? Take the short quiz below to determine what you know about bleeding gums.
- True or False. Everyone’s gums bleed when they get older.
- True or False. It’s just part of life to have gums that bleed.
- True or False. If your gums start bleeding, there’s not a good way to stop them.
The answer to all of these questions is false. Having bleeding gums is a sign of a number of conditions including gum disease. It is not a given with age or a “normal” condition that you have to live with. You can take steps to improve the health of your mouth today and can eliminate bleeding gums.
What causes bleeding gums?
Bleeding gums can signify many different health problems. You may need to talk to your doctor to determine the cause. The most common causes of bleeding gums are below:
- Brushing too hard can injure gums causing them to bleed.
- Mouth injuries can cause gums to become swollen and bleed.
- Pregnancy and other hormonal changes cause bleeding gums.
- Inflammation caused by plaque staying on teeth too long causes bleeding.
- Bleeding gums are a sign of gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis.
Luckily there are several simple fixes for this problem:
- Brush your teeth twice a day. Make sure one of the times you brush is right before bed. Brushing before bed helps your teeth to be plaque and bacteria free for the hours you sleep. This can reduce inflammation in your gums that leads to bleeding.
- Floss one a day to remove that piece of broccoli that got stuck between your teeth but also to stimulate gums and reduce plague and inflammation.
- Rinse with hydrogen peroxide (but don’t swallow it). Hydrogen peroxide can kill bacteria that causes inflammation.
- Decrease stress. Stress has been linked to all kinds of problems in the body including a decreased immune system. When your immune system goes down, your gums are less equipped to fight off infections from bacteria. Do all you can to strengthen your immune system and your gums will begin to heal.
- Increase Vitamin C. It can strengthen your immune system. Gum bleeding can even be caused by a Vitamin C deficiency. Look to increase orange foods, high in vitamin C, in your diet like sweet potatoes, red peppers, carrots, and oranges.
- Rinse your mouth with salt water. Put ½ tsp in a cup of water to decrease the bacteria count in your mouth.
- Improve your diet. No one wants to change what they eat, but the food you eat affects the health of your entire body, even the health of your gums.
- Drink more water. It cleans the teeth and gums.
- Eat crunch veggies and fruit like apples. They clean the teeth and gums.
The important idea to take away from this article is that you don’t have to accept signs of declining health like bleeding gums. You CAN improve and even reverse these symptoms.