You have a 50% chance of having it?

What is it?

Gingivitis= Red, puffy, swollen, bleeding gums.

Gingivitis is 100% reversible

There is a 50% chance you have it right now as you read this post.

The biggest problem with gingivitis is most people don’t know they have it.

If you know you have it may it may have an impact on your emotional and social well-being!

So how do you know you have it?

Ask yourself these 8 questions

Do you have puffy, red, swollen or bleeding gums?
Do you get bleeding when you brush?
Do you see blood when you spit in the sink?
Do you see blood on your toothbrush?
Are you brushing every day?
Are you blaming you bleeding puffy gums on stress, age, genetics?
Do you avoid brushing because your gums bleed?
Are you self-conscious about your smile because of your red, swollen puffy gums?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you may have gingivitis.

Most people assume it they have bleeding gums it is a sign the have been brushing to hard and they cut their gums with the toothbrush.

If you have visited your dentist regularly you should know your numbers. What does that mean?

Your dental professional will use a periodontal probe to measure the depth of your gums in millimeters surrounding your teeth to find out how healthy your gums are.

If your numbers are 1 to 3 millimeters and you have no bleeding you have healthy gums …. if your measurements are over 3 you may have gum disease…. you can still have gingivitis even with 1 to 3 mm measurements.

When your hygienist is done with the measurements she will explain her findings.

She can perform a cleaning if your gums are 1-3mm.

If you have a few fours with bleeding, and no bone loss is present you may need more than one cleaning.

Your first cleaning will be what we call a “prophy with inflammation.”

If you have too much bleeding it is hard to see if we were able to remove all of the tartar and bacteria. When we are cleaning your teeth, we go by feel under the gum tissue, too much bleeding gives us a false smooth surface, or we can burnish the tarter on the root surface and not get it all off …doing you a disservice.

After the first cleaning…we need to let you go home brush the gums for a few weeks reducing the gingivitis and bleeding and bring you back to make sure we have removed all the tartar and bacteria that can lead to periodontal disease in your mouth and other diseases in your body.

Your hygienist cannot do a normal cleaning if your measurements are greater than four. You may need to be numb, so we can perform what is called a deep cleaning (Scaling and root planning).

This is where we not only clean the teeth but also remove bacteria from the surrounding tissues. Some offices will use a laser for this procedure reducing the bacteria in the pocket wall, allowing your body a chance to heal, decreasing the pocket depth so your toothbrush can do the job it is intended for.

The best thing you can do for yourself is brush two minutes twice today once in the morning and once at night

It does not matter, whether use an electric or manual toothbrush as long as you are massaging the gums and removing the plaque.

What does matter is how you use it. Make sure you angle the toothbrush towards the gums the 45° angle, slowly brush and a circular motion if you’re using electric toothbrush the electric toothbrush does the correct motion all you need to do is hold the toothbrush for 5 to 10 seconds in one spot.

Brushing twice a day, flossing once a day, using an antibacterial mouth rinse, a waterpik and visiting your dentist twice a year will not only help keep your teeth and gums healthy it will support your overall.

You are in control of your destiny, how many things do you do in a day that only take 4-6 minutes yet can make such a huge impact on your life?

Will you make a conscious effort to take the time for your health?

What can I do to help you on your journey?