Knowing that gum health is important for our overall health, maintaining healthy gums is a priority. One of the best ways to foster healthy gums is to incorporate gum health into your daily oral hygiene routine. To help, we’ve detailed a daily oral hygiene routine that helps foster gum health.
Step One: Brushing
- You should brush your teeth and gums twice a day for optimal gum health. Make sure you are brushing for around 2 minutes and not just brushing your teeth, but your gums as well. You do not need to scrub your gums, but simply brushing the area and letting your toothbrush bristles do the work is great for keeping your gums and teeth clean.
- Make sure you are using a good toothbrush with good bristles, replacing old worn down toothbrushes every 3-4 months.
- Use a fluoride-based toothpaste or other dentist recommended toothpaste each time you brush your teeth.
Step Two: Flossing
- You should floss between all of your teeth once a day. This usually works best before going to bed each night, but finding a time that works best for you is great for maintaining the habit of flossing each day.
- To floss properly, wrap dental floss around the ends of your middle fingers. Using your thumbs and forefingers, guide the floss between two teeth. Wrap the floss snugly around one tooth in a C shape and clean it using about 10 up and down strokes before moving and repeating on the next tooth.
- If you have permanent retainers, bridges, or other dental work that makes flossing difficult, contact a dental professional for advice and tools to help make daily flossing easy for you.
Step Three: Healthy Diet
- Limiting the amount of sugary foods and tacky, sticky foods can help keep your gums and teeth looking great.
- A diet rich in Vitamin C and calcium also fosters great gum health. For example, citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and grapefruits or foods such as bell peppers and tomatoes have Vitamin C which helps strengthen connective tissue in your gums, supporting strong gum health.
- Adding more of these types of foods to your diet naturally helps your gums stay strong and can aid in the prevention of gum and periodontal disease.
Consult Gum Experts at Elkhart Periodontics
Incorporating brushing, flossing and a healthy diet into your daily routine helps tremendously in maintaining good gum health. But, if you are already struggling with gum disease, or notice any of the following symptoms–excessive bleeding gums, chronic bad breath, loose teeth–it’s time to see a periodontist.
Elkhart Periodontics has a team of excellent periodontists knowledgeable in a variety of dental services, including bone & gum grafting, oral cancer exams, and laser therapy. Call them at 574-266-6107 to schedule a gum consultation and learn about treatment options for your gum related issues.
