Your mouth is a very important part of your body. You use it to drink beverages and eat food. You also use it to talk and smile. Sometimes, you even use it to breathe instead of your nose.

Keeping it healthy is important, and many people focus on the health of their teeth so they can keep chewing food and smiling at others with confidence. However, they might overlook the health of their gums.

It’s important to know what gum disease is, how to spot it, and how to prevent it. Affordable dental care in Surprise can help you out with all of this.

What Is Gum Disease?

Gum disease is a general term for both periodontitis and gingivitis. One happens before the other.

It starts with gingivitis. It’s a common condition and a mild one. It results in swelling, inflammation, redness, and irritation to your gingiva. That’s the gum tissue around your teeth at the base.

Left untreated, gingivitis can turn into periodontitis. This level of gum disease can result in lost teeth and other health complications that can be quite serious. If there’s enough damage to your soft tissues, the hard bones that support your teeth can be damaged, as well.

Spotting Gum Disease

The best preventive dentistry in Surprise is a combination of taking steps to prevent gum disease while also watching out for specific symptoms. Here are seven that you should be constantly vigilant for:

  1. Gums that are swollen or red
  2. Gums that easily bleed
  3. Continuous bad breath
  4. Gums pulling away from your teeth
  5. Pus located between teeth
  6. Changes in your physical bite
  7. Permanent teeth that are loose

Even if your mouth looks totally spotless, you need to always be cautious. These are seven common symptoms of gum disease, but it doesn’t always show up visually in ways that you can notice. Keeping up with your dental health care in Surprise will help.

Preventing Gum Disease

Preventing periodontitis is as simple as preventing gingivitis. Without gingivitis happening first, periodontitis isn’t even a possibility.

If you want to avoid having dental implants in Surprise, then you need to do everything you can to prevent gum disease. That’s going to be a combination of your own regular care at home, seeing your dentist routinely, and managing your risk factors.

  • Brush Twice Daily: Do this for a minimum of 2 minutes each time. If possible, consider brushing your teeth more often. Clean the fronts and backs of your teeth as well as their biting surfaces. Don’t forget to brush your gums and tongue, too. Everything you can reach in your mouth needs to be brushed several times a day every single day.
  • Floss: Whether it’s dental floss for the smallest gaps or interproximal brushes for larger gaps, do this once each day before you floss. It’s better for your mouth if you do it when you brush your teeth at night, although most people find they’re more likely to stick with the habit if they do it in the morning when they remember and have more energy. Both times are better than nothing, so do what works for you.
  • Rinse: Antiseptic mouthwashes are useful after you brush your teeth, but they might also have benefits before brushing in breaking up plaque first. Talk to your dentist about what they recommend, consider the manufacturer’s directions, and decide for yourself what works best. Just make sure you also do this once a day, although you can do it more often.
  • See Your Dentist Twice a Year: Even once a year is better than nothing. Routine appointments give you two benefits. For starters, they can look for symptoms of gum disease you might be trained to see. They also might notice gum bleeding during inspection or probing that you wouldn’t trigger. Secondly, regular cleanings can remove any plaque accumulation already present. This would prevent bacteria that result in gum disease calling your mouth home.
  • Don’t Smoke: Most people know by now that smoking will eventually kill their lungs and perhaps their heart. However, that smoke has to go past your teeth and gums every single time you inhale, and it does a lot of damage in your mouth. It also has a chance to do it again on its way out. Getting teeth whitening in Surprise might help prevent yellow teeth, but dead teeth and gum disease can be a lot trickier to deal with.
  • Be Mindful of What You Eat: Anything with a lot of sugar in it is going to be hard on your gums and teeth. Regular oral hygiene will protect you a lot, but if you eat or drink too many things with sugar in them, then you’re going make it very hard for your mouth and dentist to both fight gum disease.
  • Exercise: Fitness activities of any kind get the entire body working better. Whole organ systems function at a higher state, and the benefits go down to the cellular level. Respiration and distribution of nutrients is enhanced everywhere, including your mouth. Your immune system is stronger against bacteria, and you can also fight inflammation in general.

Key Takeaways

It’s wonderful if you take great care of your teeth, but you also need to give your gums just as much love. Remember:

  • You need your mouth for eating, drinking, talking, smiling, and breathing.
  • Gum disease can impact your gums first but can also result in loss of your teeth.
  • Watching out for symptoms on your own is just as crucial visiting a family dentist in Surprise, AZ.
  • Gum disease is preventable when you do things right.
  • The best dentists in Surprise, AZ can also treat gum disease in many cases.

Do all you can to keep your mouth strong and beautiful. You deserve it.