The moment people notice blood while brushing their teeth, they start to panic. It’s a common reaction, especially if it never happened before and they instantly try to find an answer on how to heal bleeding gums.
Gum bleeding usually isn’t a serious symptom. Most people experience it at one point in their life and the cause can be as simple as swollen gums or plaque buildup. Before you start searching on how to stop bleeding gums, make sure your teeth are completely clean and plaque-free.
There are a few common reasons that cause bleeding gums which include:
- Gingivitis
- Using an inadequate toothbrush
- Flossing too hard
- Pregnancy
Out of all the things mentioned above, gingivitis is the only reason you’ll need to visit a dentist for.
If you notice blood while brushing your teeth, remember there are a lot of reasons why this happens. We’ll go over some of the most common reasons and a couple of ways you can stop it.
How to Heal Bleeding Gums at Home
As mentioned above, bleeding gums don’t signify there’s something seriously wrong with your dental health. Taking good care of your oral health is usually enough to treat this problem even though there are a few more ways you can stop gum bleeding.
One of the ways you can treat bleeding gums is by rinsing your mouth with peroxide, but you should still consult your dentist on how to do it and how often. Peroxide has antibacterial features, but if not used correctly, it can cause irritation and inflammation of the gums. If used too long, it can also cause damage to your teeth.
Improving Dental Hygiene Is the First Answer on How to Stop Gums From Bleeding
Many people don’t realize they have poor dental hygiene even if they’re brushing their teeth twice a day. Just brushing your teeth helps, but there’s a lot more to do to keep your dental hygiene at a top level.
Use an Adequate Toothbrush and Floss
Replacing your toothbrush regularly and using a softer brush will help keep your teeth and gums healthy. Regularly flossing after each meal improves dental hygiene significantly and is something the majority of people ignore. Regular toothbrushes can’t reach all the nooks and crannies in your mouth, so using floss to get food debris from between your teeth is the way on how to heal bleeding gums.
If you haven’t flossed regularly, you can expect to see some blood for the first week or two until your gums get used to it. The thing you should keep in mind is that you should never push down when flossing. By using thin floss, you can easily cut your gums instead of cleaning them and gently massaging them.
Make Some Lifestyle Changes
Smokers tend to look for ways on how to stop gums from bleeding more often than people who don’t smoke. This only means that smoking harms dental health, no matter how much a person takes care of their oral hygiene. Quitting this bad habit will quickly make improvements visible. In a matter of a month, not only will your gums most likely stop bleeding, but your teeth will become whiter and healthier.
Stress is also closely related to bad dental health. Even though it doesn’t seem like a factor that can affect dental health, stress is a pretty big factor that affects health in general, not only teeth and gums. Regularly rinsing your mouth with peroxide won’t have the same effect if you are under a lot of stress, if you’re a smoker of you don’t eat a healthy choice of food.
Having a healthy diet also has a big effect on gum health. Eating fruits and vegetables regularly cleans your teeth and strengthens your gums. We won’t even talk about the importance of having a healthy and balanced diet for your overall health.
Do Dentists Recommend Rinsing Your Mouth With Peroxide?
When it comes to rinsing your mouth with peroxide, it’s a common recommendation from dentists, but only for short amounts of time. Hydrogen peroxide is safe to use if used correctly. To make the solution yourself, you’ll need one part of peroxide mixed with two parts of water. Hydrogen peroxide is used in cleaning cuts and other open wounds because it has antibacterial features. Because plaque is covered with bacterial microfilm, it’s a common treatment for gum bleeding.
Unless it’s used as a hydrogen peroxide gum disease treatment, it shouldn’t be used more than a few times a week. There’s also a saltwater rinse for periodontal disease which can be done more often than using peroxide, but it’s not as effective.
Even if your dentist recommends a hydrogen peroxide gum disease treatment, it usually isn’t the only thing that will be used to treat your dental issues. Rinsing your mouth with peroxide shouldn’t be something you do without consulting your dentist first. If you don’t have a chosen dentist you visit regularly, Gables Sedation and Family Dentistry have certified and experienced experts that will give you tips on how to stop gums from bleeding.
What to Do if You Notice Your Gums Are Bleeding?
Everyone experiences bleeding gums occasionally, and it’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s a natural reaction to a common problem.
There are several home remedies you can try without consulting your dentist, but if the problem persists, you should go for a checkup and make sure there’s nothing serious going on with your teeth and gums.
The most common reason for bleeding gums is plaque buildup that can be easily cured by improving your oral hygiene or with a simple and easy dental procedure that doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes.
If the bleeding continues after you’ve tried the home remedies and plaque cleanup, the problem can be a bit more serious, but it still doesn’t mean you’ll lose any teeth. Periodontosis is another common disease that occurs if the plaque wasn’t cleaned for some time. There’s a dental procedure to cure this as well, but it’s a bit more complicated and requires several trips to the dentist.
No matter if you just noticed your gums are bleeding or they just look swollen, you should book an appointment at your dentist’s office for a regular checkup and plaque removal. You’ll feel much more comfortable once you know the true reason behind bleeding gums and you’ll get to cure the issue quickly and painlessly. Contact us at Gables Sedation and Family Dentistry to book your appointment, today!
Have you ever experienced gum bleeding? How did you stop it? By sharing this article on social media, you can help someone overcome their fear of bleeding gums!