Dental Information Center

Oral Hygiene and Your Gums
Dr. Karl Smith

Many of us do not automatically think about taking care of our gums – the pink fleshy part of the mouth that surrounds the base of the teeth – when we consider dental or oral hygiene. We focus on the teeth, concentrating on keeping them brushed and clean. But dentists inform us that the gums are a vital part of our dental health, and in order to make sure that we have strong, healthy, good-looking teeth it is critical that we include the gums in any oral hygiene regimen we adhere to. That means that brushing our teeth is not sufficient. We also have to do what it takes to keep the gums themselves healthy and free from disease.

The simplest way to ensure overall oral hygiene – including gum care – is just to make regular visits to the dentist and also follow a daily regimen or routine plan of dental hygienic care. That means we should brush as instructed by the dentist and floss regularly to improve the health of our teeth and gums and stimulate the circulation of healthy blood flow in the gums while simultaneously preventing the presence of harmful and infectious bacteria and periodontal disease.

If you brush your teeth and find that the gums start to bleed, for example, that may be a bad sign. Healthy gums should not be puffy and they should not bleed easily, whereas gums that may be inflamed or infected will exhibit this symptom of easy bleeding. Check with your dentist to make sure you are brushing the correct way, and are using a toothbrush that has sufficiently soft bristles that do not scratch or bruise the gum tissue. It is also a good idea to consider investing in an electric toothbrush. Many of these are affordable, rechargeable, and they have the correct kind of rotating or up and down motion of the bristles to guarantee that your teeth are cleaned the right way every time.

You also need to floss regularly – using either a thin type of dental floss, wider dental tape or ribbon, or whatever type of floss you like the best that glides easily between your teeth. If you have trouble flossing – like, for example, if you find that the floss catches and snags in the teeth or gets cut and shredded – then have your dentist or pharmacist recommend another kind. There are even types of floss on the market (and conveniently available at drug stores, grocery stores, department stores, or online retail centers) that hold the floss for you so you don’t have to struggle to fit your fingers deep into the mouth. So the main thing to remember is that flossing is a key to good dental health – both for the teeth and the gums – and that there are now many different kinds of floss to make the flossing process easy to do at home.

Mouthwash is also healthy for the teeth and gums, and most dentists will give you free samples to take home with you. Brush, floss, and use a good dentist-recommended mouthwash in the morning, evening, and after every meal – and you will have a good program of oral hygiene. Make appointments to the see the dentist and have your teeth and gums checked often, and you will be well on your way to a pretty smile with fewer worries about getting an unexpected troublesome issue with your teeth or gums.

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