Have you begun to notice a little blood when brushing your teeth? You aren’t alone. Thousands of people across the UK are showing early signs of gum disease too and yup a really large portion just ignore it. This is a mistake. Gum disease is really important to get sorted early as it’s during this time it’s done super easily and with little effort and yes despite those old wives tales it is totally curable! Here’s all you need to know on how your dentist in Ipswich can help your gum disease worries.
Why Do I Have Gum Disease?
Gum disease can develop for a whole host of reasons but in most cases we see at Quest Dental Care it’s related to patients’ oral hygiene practices. We want to reassure patients that this isn’t something to be embarrassed about and it’s actually very normal for people not to have a complete oral hygiene practice in place. Many of us were raised that brushing our teeth was enough and haven’t thought about it twice. However, we need to clean between our teeth and gums too… but more on that later.
Gum disease happens when bacteria builds up on and around the gums and teeth this is called plaque and overtime when it’s not cleaned away it turns into tartar. Now in the same way that if you get dirt in an open wound it becomes red, swollen and even starts to pus so do your gums when they have dirt on them. It’s actually the body’s way of trying to protect itself by removing the issue but in doing this it also ends up removing the tooth it supports, which obviously we don’t want!
What Can My Dentist in Ipswich Do To Help?
There’s a few things we can do, firstly we’ll recommend a hygienist appointment! Again – hygienists can feel a bit daunting but we promise they’ll lovely people!! A hygienist is a special dentist who is trained to take care of gums in a way that your dentist in Ipswich isn’t. They have all the knowledge and tools needed to inspect the severity of the gum disease and then set about on a deep clean (scale and polish) to bring your gums back to their perfect pink health.
Once they’ve completed your scale and polish – which between you and me, is my absolute favorite dental treatment ever as it gives your teeth back the most beautiful white shine without even whitening them! They will talk you through best practice when it comes to oral hygiene. Through an open, honest conversation they will be able to identify the holes in your routine to discover why they believe you have fallen victim to gum disease in the first place. Then they’ll be able to offer you a solution to keep your gums healthy. Usually this will include brushing longer and more regularly and introducing daily flossing.
If you’re worried about your gums then please don’t wait to contact your dentist in Ipswich – we’re here for you.
