About Me

Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

My intense love for candy, cakes, and everything in between started as a child. I simply couldn't go one day without something sweet to eat. But my love for all things sweet took a toll on my teeth. My dentist diagnosed me with seven cavities, each one a different size and depth. After sitting through four long dental appointments, I decided to make a change. I now monitor my diet and only eat things that benefit my oral health. I'm here to help you take better care of your teeth. My blog offers tips on how to improve your diet, maintain good oral hygiene, and many other topics. Hopefully, you can learn to overcome your bad habits just as I did. Good luck with your future dental health.

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Dental Health and Food: Learning to Eat Better

Having Painful Dental Cleaning? Follow These Tips for Gum Care

by Eric Bailey

Do you not look forward to your dental cleanings because they are painful? If so, it can be caused by not caring for your gums between cleanings. Here are some tips that will help reduce gum bleeding and not make them feel as sore after a dental cleaning.

Let Your Toothbrush Overlap Your Gums 

A common problem that leads to your gums bleeding and being inflamed is improper brushing. That's because when people think of brushing their teeth, they think of only brushing their teeth. The truth is that your gums need some attention as well in order to keep them healthy.

You should actually be brushing your teeth with the toothbrush overlapping your gums slightly since this helps agitate the gums and get rid of any plaque that is trapped underneath the gums. You don't need to brush your gums very hard since lightly brushing them will help remove what is hidden underneath the gums.

Use Mouthwash Every Day

Mouthwash does a lot more than give you fresh breath after using it. You'll want to incorporate mouthwash into your daily brushing and flossing routine since it helps remove plaque that is hiding between your teeth along the gum line. Mouthwash will also prevent plaque from building up on your teeth as well. Try using mouthwash after you brush and floss to have it be as effective as possible. If you do it before you brush, the mouthwash won't help remove agitated plaque that is ready to come out.

Take Pain Relievers for Sore Gums

If you're experiencing gum pain, it helps to take a pain relieving medication to deal with it. If your gums are painful, you may avoid cleaning them when brushing your teeth since the bristles of the brush will irritate you. However, if a pain reliever is working as intended, you'll feel less pain and be more likely to practice better oral health

Don't Pick at Your Gums

You may think that you're doing a good job by scraping plaque off your teeth with your fingernail. However, you may be making your gums feel even worse. You can easily expose your gums to dirt from your fingernails rather than remove all the plaque, which will cause bacteria to form under the gums. While the amount of plaque you are removing may look impressive, stick to using tools like dental floss to clean under the gum line.

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