All too often the importance of our gums is underestimated. Our gums spread around the mouth attatching to the bones, ligatures and the teeth themselves. By doing this it binds all the elements together and prevents microbes and contamination from reaching sentive areas of the mouth. If our gums are not kept healthy, they can harbor harmful bacteria that will lead to gum desease and deterioration.
Gum disease is painless. You only realize you have it once the damage is great and irreversible. So good habits, regular checkups and early detection are important.
Some scary facts about gum disease:
- Gum disease affects three of four people in their lifetime
- Gum disease is the primary reason adults loose their teeth
- According to the American Dental Association poor dental habits in children can lead to problems with eating, speech and even cause absences in school.
- Poor dental hygiene in expectant mothers has been linked to premature and underweight births.
Good looking smiles
Visually, the gums are very important. In fact, when we see a smile we don’t just look at the teeth, we also see the gums. Reddened gums do not look healthy and can make even white, well aligned teeth look bad. The shape of the gums is also imortant. The height of the arch around the neck of each tooth must be properly proportioned to create a harmonious looking smile.
Value of good cleaning
Given the vital role of our gums it is important we take good care of them.
Brushing and flossing are the most important things we can do to keep our gums healthy. Taking our time to thoroughly clean our teeth will add years to our smile and reduce our dental costs dramatically.
Over the next few weeks we will explore what you can do at home to take care of your teeth and gums. In upcoming articles we will deal with toothbrushes, flossing, brushing, professional deep cleaning, home testing to determine how well you clean your teeth and, issues specific for smokers.