You know you need to floss every day, and it’s great for your dental health, but what should you do if flossing makes your gums bleed? Does that mean your flossing is doing more harm than good, and you should stop? The answer is almost certainly not! When your gums bleed in Newcastle, it can be a sign that something is wrong. One of the most common causes of bleeding gums is periodontal disease.
Periodontal Disease
Also known as gum disease or periodontitis, periodontal disease is a bacterial infection that can destroy your gums and the bone around your teeth. It often occurs because of a buildup of dental plaque, a sticky biofilm containing harmful bacteria. Dental plaque is why you must regularly brush and floss, as if plaque remains on your teeth for too long, it soon hardens into tartar or calculus. The bacteria in tartar can continue to infect your gums, causing inflammation, and by this stage can only be removed during a professional dental cleaning in Clarington.
If plaque and tartar are allowed to build up, you can quickly develop the first stage of periodontitis called gingivitis. Gingivitis is where your gums become irritated and inflamed, so they start to look red and swollen and will begin to bleed when you brush and floss your teeth. The good news about gingivitis is that it is reversible. So, if you notice your gums have started to bleed, make an appointment to come and see us at West Bowmanville Family Dental so we can examine your oral health and quickly diagnose this condition.
Often, gingivitis can be reversed by having your teeth cleaned professionally to get rid of plaque and tartar buildup, eliminating the bacteria that cause this infection and inflammation. At the same time, we can review your oral health routine, ensuring you are brushing and flossing correctly to remove the maximum amount of plaque and food debris each day.
If you don’t get to see a dentist soon enough and the disease progresses into periodontitis, plenty of treatments are still available to help control this condition. These include deep cleaning your gums with scaling and root planing, oral antibiotics and other more advanced treatments like gum or bone grafting.
Ideally, we would much rather work with you to prevent periodontal disease by ensuring you see us regularly for checkups and cleanings and that you have an excellent oral care routine.
Hormonal Changes
Bleeding gums can also be due to hormonal changes during menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. During these stages, hormonal changes can increase the gum tissue’s sensitivity to bacteria. Blood flow to the gums also increases, so your gums are more likely to bleed even if you have good oral hygiene. If you have noticed that your gums are bleeding, and it is likely due to hormonal changes, it’s more important than ever to maintain a good oral care routine. We can help by assessing your gum health and may recommend more frequent dental cleanings to remove all plaque and tartar buildup so you can easily maintain stronger and healthier gums.
Underlying Health Conditions
Sometimes the reason for bleeding gums in Courtice isn’t immediately clear and might be due to underlying health conditions, such as diabetes. People with diabetes are more susceptible to developing periodontal disease, so if you have this condition, it’s important to let us know so we can tailor your preventive dental care plan accordingly. If your gums have begun to bleed for no apparent reason, it might be useful to visit your GP in case of an undiagnosed medical issue.
