After brushing, have you seen blood on your floss or pink when you spit? Many adults deal with the often observed oral health problem of bleeding gums. Actually, bleeding during or after flossing is really common and you might even consider it as a typical reaction. Not at all true!
Regular bleeding of your gums, tenderness, or swollen appearance of your teeth could indicate a far more serious issue hiding in your smile.
The Reasons Your Gum Bleeds
Usually for one of three reasons—the tissue has been damaged, oral hygiene issues exist, or an underlying condition related to the mouth exists—gums leak. While occasionally the trigger may be straightforward enough to address and stop the bleeding, most of the time bleeding gums are a symptom not treatable with direct treatment.
Let us now review the five most often occurring causes of gum bleeding.
- Gum disease or gingivitis
Gum disease or gingivitis is the #1 reason bleeding gums occur. About half of all adults have some kind of gum disease; most of them will first notice bleeding, sore, or inflamed gums.
The forerunner of gum disease, gingivitis is typified by chronic inflammation of the gums. Usually, this results from plaque accumulating on the teeth aggravating the gum tissue in the pockets around them.
Starting as somewhat minor gum disease and ending as periodontitis, the most severe type, gum disease is a multi-stage disease. Gum disease results from untreated gingivitis allowing plaque to develop and infect the gum tissue.
- Brushing or flossing practices
Your gum condition closely relates to how you treat your smile. Either not brushing and floss often enough, brush and floss too often, or adopt a technique that damages your gum tissue and bleeding gums result.
You should assess how you floss everyday, brush twice a day for two minutes, and generally maintain your dental hygiene. You might be brushing and flossing too vigorously if you also find that your gums are receding.
Remember, forcefully flossing or brushing very hard is not required and may damage your gum tissue. Over elbow grease, concentrate on thoroughness and soft technique; always use a soft-bristled toothbrush.
- Inadequate diet
Both in terms of what you eat and the general nutrients your diet provides, your oral health is much influenced by it.
Foods high in crunch, such as cereal, chips, and crackers, can pinch and irritate the gum tissue, leading to bleeding when you go to floss or brush. If you only find bleeding gums following meals, analyze the things you consumed and ask whether they might have caused any mild damage.
One more typical cause of persistent gum bleeding connected to food is a diet devoid of nutrients. Your oral health may suffer if your diet lacks key minerals and vitamins found in complete, healthful meals. This can lead to sensitive, delicate gums far more likely to bleed after eating, flossing, and brushing.
- Side Effects of Medications
It could be relevant if you recently started a new medicine and suddenly have bleeding gums. Often the offender are blood-thinning drugs, which can cause bleeding following brushing, flossing, or consuming items aggravating the gum tissue. Remember that bleeding gums are not always brought on by prescription drugs. Even over-the-counter drugs can produce the same issue if your doctor recommended aspirin or ibuprofen for health concerns.
Unless you have discussed this with your doctor, do not discontinue taking your medicine if you believe it may be affecting your oral condition. Should the medicine prove unchangeable, your dentist will assist you in discovering other approaches of oral hygiene to control gum condition.
- Other Diseases as Well as Diabetes
Given the link oral health is to general health, many ailments in the body can create problems in the mouth. Patients with a compromised immune system often have bleeding gums and higher risk of gum disease.
Diabetes is one of the most often occurring systematic diseases causing gum disease. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes might make it rather simple to acquire gingivitis and gum disease, thereby causing bleeding gums as a symptom.
If you have diabetes, you should let your dentist know so they may modify your oral care schedule and assist you to keep ideal dental condition.
Advice on What to Do If Your Gums Start to Bleed
Here’s what to do if your gums bleed often or if you find soreness when flossing or brushing.
1. Communicate with your dentist.
Always bring bleeding gums up with your dentist. Call their office and describe what you are going through. Usually, some little bleeding right after flossing is not reason for an urgent visit; rather, your dentist will want you to see for a general check shortly.
- Review Your Oral Hygiene Routine.
Look at how you treat your smile at home and try to find anything you might do to help with gum health. Perhaps you need to cut back on aggressive flossing practices or you are not brushing and flossing sufficiently. As long as they bear the ADA seal of recognition, you can also start using oral care products intended for gum health.
- Modify Your Diet as Needed
Cut as much processed food and sugar as you can. Know that drinks—including diet or “healthy” ones like juice—have hidden sugars and citrous acids. Furthermore contributing to plaque development and consequent gum irritation and bleeding are starches and carbs.
Dr. Bing is a fantastic source of knowledge and direction on designing a diet suitable for a smile.
Should you be dealing with gum bleeding, sensitivity, or any other oral health issue, Dr. Bing and our wonderful staff can guide you toward healing.