Having cavity free doesn’t necessarily mean that your gums are healthy. 90% of Kenyans suffer from an oral disease often seen in the form of receding gums and gum inflammations.
Since gum disease in its early stages is usually painless, you may fail to recognize there is something wrong with your gums. Only a small portion of people tend to visit the dentist and a majority do so when there’s is pain and discomfort. A majority of adults in Kenya suffer from periodontitis and gums disease. This should tell how important regular preventative dental care is to your gums.
Having healthy gums actually starts at home and with your own oral hygiene habits. Below are just but a few ways to keep you gums healthy
1. GET REGULAR DENTAL CELANINGS AND CHECKUPS
Your dentist can detect early gum disease symptoms if you visit for dental checkup on a regular basis. This allows for gum disease symptoms to be treated before they get to advanced stages. A professional dental cleaning is the ONLY way to remove tartar. It can also get rid of any plaque you missed when brushing your teeth. If you suffer from gingivitis, brushing, flossing and regular dental cleaning can help restore your gums and keep them healthy.
2. FLOSSING
Floss at least twice a day, this helps remove the interdental plaque and food that beyond your tooth brush and in between the teeth and gums areas. Flossing ensures there’s is less dental plaque in your mouth, and helps maintain your gums by reducing the rate at which food accumulates in the gums and reduces the risk of developing gum diseases.
3. QUIT SMOKING
Smoking is highly associated with the onset of gum disease. Smoking weakens your immune system, and it makes it harder to fight gum infection. Smoking also makes it difficult for gums to heal once they have been damages.
4. BRUSH TWICE A DAY
Brushing your teeth after every meal is a habit that is quite vital in order to preserve healthy gums. This helps remove the food and plaque trapped between your teeth and gums. Clean your tongue too when brushing since it can harbor bacteria. Also ensure you use a toothbrush that had soft bristles to avoid damaging your gums. You can also consider using an electric tooth brush thus can help reduces gingivitis and plaque more than the manual tooth-brush.
You should also should swap your tooth brush as soon as the bristles start to fray and most importantly after three months.
5. USE FLOURIDE TOOTH PASTE
As for tooth pastes, there are many brands that claim to reduce gingivitis, freshen breath and even whiten teeth, how do you know which toothpaste is best for you? always go for a toothpaste that contains fluoride. Floride protects teeth against decay by helping strengthen developing enamel and slowing production of bacteria caused by plaque.
6. USE THERAPUTIC MOUTH WASH
Mouth wash is usually available over the counter, therapeutic mouth wash helps reduce and prevent plaque, reduce gingivitis, reduce the speed of plaque and tartar formation. A rinse of mouthwash after brushing and flossing your teeth help remove debris from your mouth. You should also not use mouth wash as a substitute for flossing and brushing. All three are important and play different role and they should be all done at least twice a day.
7. WATCHING WHAT YOU EAT AND DRINK
Sticky candies like lollipops contain a lot of refined sugars. When someone feasts on these candies, the bad bacteria in your mouth also feast on them. This can lead to plaque forming faster on your teeth. Fruit juices ad sodas also have loads of sugars and can stain your teeth if consumed too often. Research has also shown that the more you drink alcohol the higher you are at a risk of getting gum disease. As such cutting down on consumption of such things can help boost your oral and general health of your gums.
BOTTOM LINE
Achieving healthy gums teeth takes a lifetime of care. Even when you feel you have nice teeth its crucial to take the right steps every day to take care of them, your gums and prevent any problems. This mainly involves getting the right oral care products as well as being mindful of daily habits for strong healthy gums and teeth.
