It's All About Your Mouth: 4 Tips To Help Maintain Healthy Gums

Dentist Blog

When it comes to oral hygiene, you probably spend a lot of time focusing on your teeth. However, if you're not spending some time focusing on your gums, you could be setting yourself up some serious dental problems. Your gums play a crucial role in your overall dental health. Here are four tips that will help you keep your gums healthy.

Brush Twice a Day

Brushing your teeth twice a day is an important part of good oral hygiene. Not only will it keep your teeth healthy and strong, it will also help prevent gum problems, especially when you use the proper technique. When brushing your teeth, you should make sure that the bristles are angled so that they can reach under the gum line. It's also important that you focus on one quadrant at a time—divide your mouth into four sections and brush one section at a time. This will ensure that you spend enough time on each section of your mouth.

Use an Antiseptic Rinse

If you're not using an antiseptic rinse each time you brush your teeth, you're not getting your mouth as clean as it should be. Antiseptic rinses contain ingredients that will kill the bacteria that could be hiding between your teeth and along the gum line. Your antiseptic rinse will also take care of the germs that are lingering on your tongue.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Your diet is an important component of gum health. Maintaining a diet that's rich in foods that contain vitamin D, phosphorous, and calcium, will help protect you from developing gum disease. If you're not sure which foods are good sources of those vitamins, here's a few to get you started.

  • Phosphorous – wheat germ, almonds, eggs
  • Calcium – broccoli, beans, tuna
  • Vitamin D – eggs, cheese, soy milk

Drink Plenty of Water

A moist mouth helps fight gum disease. That's because saliva is beneficial for washing away bacteria from your mouth. Water helps your mouth produce more saliva and washes away the bacteria that could cause gum disease. To keep your gums healthy, have a bottle of water with you at all times. Your mouth will stay hydrated, which will help keep your gums healthy.

If you're not taking proper care of your gums, you could be in danger of developing gum disease. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to prevent the disease. You can protect your gums by using the suggestions provided above. For maximum protection, be sure to visit your dentist (like those at All About Smiles Incorporated) at least twice a year. 

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30 June 2016

Emergency Dental Care

The average dentist takes many client appointments each day and also deals with emergency situations on a regular basis. Dental emergencies are very common because people are likely to put off having tooth pain fixed until the pain becomes unbearable. Some people have anxiety about dental visits, and others are trying to avoid the expense of dental care. In either case, the end result is often a dental emergency. I have worked as a professional dental hygienist for many years and have seen all types of dental emergencies. I hope that this blog will help people identify potential emergencies before they become too serious and will allow people to know when to get help.