{"id":944,"date":"2019-11-27T21:59:53","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T21:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/dental-care-blog\/bleeding-gums-causes-and-treatment\/"},"modified":"2019-11-27T22:28:35","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T22:28:35","slug":"bleeding-gums-causes-and-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/dental-care-blog\/bleeding-gums-causes-and-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Bleeding Gums: Causes and Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2019\/11\/bleeding-gums_543.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"543\" height=\"543\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2019\/11\/bleeding-gums_543.jpg 543w, https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2019\/11\/bleeding-gums_543-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2019\/11\/bleeding-gums_543-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>BLEEDING GUMS ARE<\/b> the most common symptom of gum disease, but that\u2019s not the only thing that can cause this problem. Let\u2019s take a closer look at bleeding gums, the various causes, and what we can do about it.<\/p>\n<h3>Gingivitis and Periodontitis<\/h3>\n<p>Over time, plaque (a sticky, bacteria-filled film that coats our teeth) builds up along our gumlines if we aren\u2019t careful enough in our brushing and flossing routines. <strong>Eventually, plaque hardens into tartar, which irritates the gums<\/strong>, making them more likely to bleed and leading to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/bleeding-gums#treatment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gingivitis<\/a>, or the early stage of gum disease.<\/p>\n<p>More advanced gum disease is periodontitis, where the infection impacts the jaw and supportive tissues connecting the teeth to the gums as well as the gums themselves. Tooth loss is a major concern at this stage, so don\u2019t let it get this far!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PgfziREdghc?rel=0\" width=\"543\" height=\"305\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Vitamin C and K Deficiencies<\/h3>\n<p>If your gums are bleeding but you don\u2019t have gum disease, <strong>ask your doctor to check your vitamin C and K levels<\/strong>, and make sure you\u2019re including good sources of these vitamins in your diet, such as: citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, and bell peppers for vitamin C, and watercress, kale, spinach, lettuce, mustard greens, soybeans, and olive oil for vitamin K.<\/p>\n<h3>Overbrushing Damages Gum Tissue<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s also possible (though uncommon) to damage gum tissue to the point of bleeding (and worse) simply by brushing too hard. Remember when you\u2019re brushing that you aren\u2019t cleaning out tile grout; you\u2019re cleaning soft, living tissue, and gentle brushing is enough. <strong>It\u2019s best to use a brush with soft bristles.<\/strong> One way you know you\u2019re probably brushing too hard is if the bristles quickly become bent outward.<\/p>\n<h3>A New Flossing Routine<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colgate.com\/en-us\/oral-health\/conditions\/gum-disease\/5-causes-of-bleeding-gums-you-should-know-0613\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">flossing<\/a> for the first time in a while can cause a little bleeding, but this is no reason to stop flossing. The bleeding should clear up after a few days if there isn\u2019t another cause, but <strong>make sure that you\u2019re gentle on your gums when you floss<\/strong>. You want to get beneath the gumline, but avoid pulling straight towards the gums when getting between your teeth. Instead, work your way down carefully with a back-and-forth motion.<\/p>\n<h3>Protecting Your Gum Health<\/h3>\n<p>The first step to having healthy gums is good dental hygiene. This includes twice-daily brushing for a full two minutes with that soft-bristled toothbrush, daily flossing, and twice-yearly visits to the dentist. <strong>A good way to soothe tender gums is by swishing with warm salt water<\/strong> (but don\u2019t swallow it). You might also want to consider switching to an electric toothbrush. They\u2019re better at cleaning and you\u2019re less likely to brush too hard with them.<\/p>\n<h3>Let the Dentist Take a Look<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019ve noticed your gums bleeding when you brush or if they\u2019ve felt sore or swollen lately, the first thing to do is to schedule a dental appointment. The dentist can determine what the source of the problem is and recommend the right next steps to take to get back to great gum health!<\/p>\n<h4>We love our patients\u2019 healthy smiles!<\/h4>\n<h6>Top image by Flickr user <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/rockofadgs\/6809730368\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">n\u00f8pe<\/a><\/span> used under <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #d9d9d9;\">The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><b>BLEEDING GUMS ARE<\/b> the most common symptom of gum disease, but that\u2019s not the only thing that can cause&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176,179,180,182,181],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-dental-posts","category-general-dental","category-ortho","category-pediatric","category-176","category-179","category-180","category-182","category-181","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/graystonedental\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}