How to Restore Your Gums: The Best Practices for Healthy Gum Tissue

Your periodontal tissue, or gum tissue, is a crucial part of your oral health. Your gums don’t just support a natural and healthy appearance by covering your tooth roots—they also help protect teeth from decay, keep them secure in your jaw, and prevent tooth sensitivity.

Keeping your gums healthy is an essential component of oral health for a bright and beautiful smile. As such, taking care of your teeth means taking care of your gums too.

But if your gums have been impacted by inflammation, gum recession, or gum disease, how can you restore your gums? We discuss some of the best practices for healthy gum tissue here, as well as how to restore your gums and what periodontal symptoms to be aware of.

Ways to Restore Your Gums Tissue

Periodontal Symptoms to Look Out for

Healthy gum tissue should not be red, puffy, or tender. If your gums are irritated, swollen, or bleed when you brush, these are signs of periodontal disease that your dentist in Asheville should evaluate.

Gums are meant to be firm and cover your tooth roots. However, with gum recession, the gums pull back from the teeth, which can cause tooth roots to become exposed. Gum recession can result in acute tooth sensitivity and even make your teeth appear longer. Receding gums can continue to worsen and may even require a gum graft to fix in more severe cases.

Other symptoms that could signal unhealthy gum tissue include:

• A bad taste in your mouth
• Bad breath
• Tooth sensitivity
• Loose teeth
• Pain when chewing

Now that you know the problems that can result from unhealthy gum tissue, let’s talk about how to restore your gums and the best practices for maintaining healthy gum tissue.

Always Use a Soft-Bristled Toothbrush

One of the best and easiest ways to protect your gum tissue is to use a toothbrush with soft bristles. Aggressively brushing your teeth or even gently brushing with a toothbrush with stiff bristles can damage both your tooth enamel and your gums, potentially causing gum irritation, recession, and sensitive teeth.

A soft-bristled toothbrush has bristles that should bend easily when you run your finger across them. They should feel soft and not rough. Look for the words “soft” or “ultra-soft” when choosing a toothbrush or toothbrush head.

Using an electric toothbrush may help improve your gum health, as research shows they clean the gumline better than a traditional manual toothbrush. Electric toothbrushes may particularly benefit those with a history of gum inflammation and disease. If you go electric, you can still choose a toothbrush head with soft bristles to protect your teeth and gums.

Some electric toothbrushes even have a sensor that will help you know if you’re brushing too hard—the toothbrush may alert you by making a sound, slowing down, or shutting off if you apply too much pressure when brushing your teeth.

Get Your Teeth Cleaned Twice a Year

Having your teeth professionally cleaned helps remove plaque and its hardened form, tartar, that can accumulate around the gumline and contribute to gum irritation and inflammation.

Although brushing and flossing your teeth at home is a must for maintaining and restoring your gum health, professional teeth cleanings and checkups are also crucial for healthy gums. Your Asheville dentist will evaluate your gum health, and a hygienist will professionally clean your teeth, which can help prevent gum disease.

Professional teeth cleanings can also help reverse the early stage of gum disease, also called gingivitis, to restore your gums. So even if it’s been a while since you have seen your dentist, a checkup and cleaning may be the only treatment you need to restore your smile.

Generally, having your teeth cleaned twice a year is recommended, but your dentist will let you know an interval that is most beneficial for you based on your unique oral health and risk for periodontal disease.

Floss Every Day

Flossing is only necessary once a day to remove plaque and debris from between your teeth. Your toothbrush can’t reach the surfaces of your teeth where two teeth touch, so flossing is necessary to help clean your mouth thoroughly. 

When you don’t floss, plaque and food particles can build up between your teeth. Over time, this debris can cause tooth enamel damage, tooth sensitivity, gum recession, and even gum disease. Flossing daily keeps the spaces between your teeth clean and can help prevent periodontal symptoms, including bad breath.

It doesn’t matter when you floss or what type of floss you are using as long as you floss every day. Some people may prefer flavored floss, water flossers, or the help of interdental floss threaders—the choice is yours!

Eat a Healthy Diet

What you eat plays a significant role in your oral health, including your gum tissue. In fact, research shows that eating foods that cause inflammation has been associated with periodontal disease in adults. Foods that cause inflammation include processed meat, red meat, saturated fats, and simple carbohydrates, such as refined sugars and grains.

Eating a healthy diet that helps combat inflammation, which includes foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and fish, may help lower your risk of gum disease. Eating healthy can also boost your immune system function, which means your body has a better chance of fighting gum disease even if you develop the condition or are at risk of developing it.

A nutritious diet can help keep your teeth and periodontal tissue healthy and potentially reduce your risk of tooth decay and gum disease, especially when combined with proper oral hygiene and regular dental visits.

How Healthy Are Your Gums?

Restoring your gums starts with proper oral hygiene at home but extends to regular dental visits and eating healthy to support your brightest smile. How healthy are your gums? Whether or not you notice signs of gum disease, it’s imperative to keep up with your dental checkups.

Contact Saunders DDS today to book an appointment to evaluate your gum health and get your teeth cleaned. Call us at (828) 277-6060 or reach us online via our contact form to request your appointment.

Need more information on how to maintain healthy gums and prevent gum recession? Saunders DDS can help. Book an appointment now!