Dawaai brings a health talk show – Health Dialogue to give you the freshest, most in-the-know content and tips to help you live your healthiest and happiest life. We have taken this initiative to increase awareness, and to share handy tips and tricks so you can take better care of yourself, and know when you need to visit a doctor.
To kick off the series, our featured doctors are talking about bleeding gums, which is surely a topic that is so common and almost all of us suffer from it at one point or another in our life. Let’s delve into this and get to know what causes bleeding gums and how to maintain sound oral hygiene.
Bleeding gums and hygiene maintenance
WHY IT HAPPENS
This video talks about the common problem of bleeding gums, which is one of the signs of underlying gum disease. Here are some of the reasons it may happen:
- Tooth brushing: Using a toothbrush that is old, or too hard, and improper brushing technique can lead to bleeding gums.
- Poor oral hygiene: Neglecting oral hygiene can cause plaque buildup and bacteria which can then lead to inflammation, and bleeding. Furthermore, if the gums bleed after brushing, patients tend to avoid brushing altogether. This should be avoided.
- Underlying diseases: Some underlying diseases and their medications may cause bleeding gums. In which case, your dentist or doctor should be consulted.
- Pregnancy: Some women experience bleeding gums when pregnant, this is avoidable by maintaining good oral hygiene through regular checkups, and scaling.
How To Help
To avoid above-mentioned problems, try adding these habits to your routine:
- Oral hygiene practices: Good hygiene practices include regular brushing, twice a day along with flossing if needed, and use of mouthwash at least once a day.
- Regular checkups and scaling: Regular checkups: Regular checkup or cleaning performed by a dentist or dental hygienist biannually is important to maintain sound oral health. There is a misconception that scaling weakens the tooth structure. On the contrary, scaling helps to improve the health of your gums and prevents gum diseases when done regularly.
- Saltwater rinses: Saltwater rinse helps reduce inflammation and bleeding.