It’s one of the most common dental health problems. Gum disease can be hard to detect and as it spreads deeper into your gums it becomes harder to treat. Periodontal treatments can be intensive and time-consuming. Save yourself some serious time and discomfort by taking care of your gums.
At Dental Specialty Associates, we know how you can cheat periodontal disease. Here are five easy steps you can take to stay periodontal disease free.
Good Habits
The key to keeping periodontal disease at bay is good dental habits. Brushing and flossing every day is crucial. You should brush and floss at least twice a day, every day, for two minutes at a time. Make sure you brush your tongue, too: There’s bacteria on your tongue that can spread to the rest of your mouth and damage your gums.
Don’t Smoke
One of the leading causes of gum disease is smoking. If you smoke cigarettes or chew tobacco, it would do your overall health a world of good to stop. Smoking decreases circulation that keeps your gums healthy, and nicotine and tobacco can dehydrate you and impact your immune system.
Healthy Diet
You are what you eat. If you eat poorly, your gums will do poorly. A diet that’s rich in nutrients keeps your immune system strong enough to fight off infections. Stay away from sugary and acidic foods as much as possible. Sugary foods increase the acidity in your mouth, which increases your bacterial count. And the more bacteria there are in your mouth the higher your risk of developing periodontal disease.
Saliva
Most people don’t think of saliva as being an important part of their oral health but it has a significant role to play. Saliva has a protective effect on your teeth and gums. It rinses the inside of your mouth, helping to clear away food debris, sugars, and other things that may be clinging to your teeth. If you get dehydrated and your saliva production goes down it’ll leave your mouth vulnerable to infection.
You can keep your saliva going strong by staying well-hydrated. You can also stimulate production of it by chewing sugar-free gum. Watch out for medications that decrease your saliva, like anticonvulsant medicine.
Regular Checkups
One of the worst things about periodontal disease is that it can be hard to spot before it gets bad. The symptoms aren’t always easy to spot. Seeing a professional on a regular basis to make sure that your gums are healthy is worth the time and effort. If you do have a problem in your gums, it can be spotted and treated before it grows into something that requires intensive work to fix.
To find out more about how we can treat & cheat periodontal disease, give Dental Specialty Associates a call at 602-795-5995.
