Do you have healthy gums, or not? You may not have the slightest clue about the health of your gums—but you should. In Dr. Van Treese’s last blog article, he introduced the importance of healthy gums, and what other health issues can stem from gum disease.

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Knowing the health of your gums is not always easy, especially when you don’t maintain routine visits to the dentist. Unfortunately, gum disease does not show many signs or symptoms, and is often referred to as a “silent disease.” 

A couple signs of gum disease that you can look for include:

  • Your gums bleeding while you brush or floss.
  • Your gums appearing bright red and puffy.

If you think you might have gum disease, or do not know for sure if you do or not, you may want to consider visiting your dentist. Your dentist has special tools that can determine the health of your gums, if you have gum disease, how developed your gum disease may be, and what a successful treatment plan would be. 

Below, Dr. Van Treese offers a few tips to keeping your gums healthy. Please note that these practices should not replace your routine dental appointments and professional cleanings. 

  • Brush your gums twice a day. While you are brushing your teeth, remember to gently brush your gums as well. Brushing your gums can help to remove bacteria that is on your gums and along your gum line.
  • Brush your top teeth from the top down and your bottom teeth from the bottom up. This brushing technique will help to free up and bacteria or plaque that may be sitting on your gum line. 
  • Remember to floss. When your dentist asks you about your flossing habits, it is not for fun. It is because flossing is just as important as brushing your teeth. 

Your dentist is well equipped to examine your mouth and determine the health of your gums. Your dentist may also put together a treatment plan to restore your gums to health. This treatment plan may require the work of a periodontist as well.