Oral health isn’t just about your teeth. It also involves taking care of your tongue, cheeks, and most importantly, your gums.
Periodontitis, also called gum disease, is described as a serious gum infection that causes damage to the soft tissue that lines your gum. If left untreated, it can eventually destroy the bone that supports your teeth. In worst-case scenarios, it can lead to tooth loss as well.
It’s a common problem but the good news is that it’s preventable. One of the best cures is prevention. If you want to avoid periodontitis, then you need to understand the common causes so that you can avoid it.
1. Poor Oral Hygiene
This is the no. 1 cause of gum disease. Taking care of your oral health might be an intensive process but in doing so, you’ll be able to avoid various problems in the future as well. As a general rule of thumb, here’s what your oral hygiene routine should involve:
- Brush twice a day (or after every meal)
- Floss once a day
- Use an antiseptic mouthwash
Maintaining a good routine can prevent plaque and bacteria build-up which could offset gum disease.
Apart from this, make it a must to visit your dentist for deep cleaning at least twice a year, says experts from Smile Ville. You should visit more if you’re experiencing problems with your teeth.
2. Smoking
Smoking in general is bad for your health. Apart from your lungs, the habit also does a lot of bad things to your mouth – your gum specifically.
Smoking can interfere with the normal function of your gum tissue. This makes your mouth more vulnerable to problems including gum disease. It’s a habit that you should stop immediately and if you’re having trouble, make sure to seek professional help regarding this.
3. Medication
Though not common, there are certain prescription drugs that can cause gum disease. It happens when the side effect of the drug leaves your mouth dry. Saliva production is an integral process of oral health as it can help prevent the growth of bacteria in your mouth.
Needless to say, if a prescription drug makes it more problematic for your mouth to produce saliva, you’re more prone to gum disease.
Since you can’t stop prescription drugs, what you can do is encourage saliva production instead. The easiest way to do this is to chew gum once your mouth starts to feel dry.
4. Hormonal Shifts (Female Only)
Women have to start taking care of their mouths a bit more intensively compared to men. Research shows that hormonal shifts that occur during pregnancy and monthly menstrual cycles make your mouth more susceptible to gum disease.
Pregnancy or menstruation doesn’t mean that you’ll have oral health and gum problems. What this means is that you should take extra care of your teeth during these periods.
5. Vitamin Deficiency
Getting all of your daily vitamins is hard but it’s an investment in your health. If you want to avoid gum disease, you should specifically increase your vitamin C intake. The easiest and most natural way to do this is to eat citrus fruits like oranges.
6. Crooked Teeth
It’s common for teeth to overlap. However, if the issue results in major gaps in between your teeth, that will expose the inner part of your gums more which can promote bacterial growth.
The only real treatment for misaligned or crooked teeth is getting braces. It might be a long process but braces not only get you the perfect smile, but it also prevents a lot of possible oral mouth
7. Dehydration
As we’ve stated earlier, if your mouth is constantly dry, that can result in bacteria build-up which causes a variety of teeth and gum issues. Keeping yourself well hydrated is important as it can help prevent most common mouth problems. You should do your best to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
8. Family History
Gum disease is hereditary. Unlike most of the causes here, there’s nothing you can do with regard to hereditary gum disease. However, if you know there’s a history of it within your family, you should tell your dentist ASAP so they can start doing preventive measures. Should you need any help, especially for kids, please feel free to seek help from this great pediatric dentist in Quantico, VA if you are just within the area.
Gum disease doesn’t just make daily living uncomfortable, it’s also a costly problem to treat. By knowing these common causes of periodontitis, you can greatly reduce the risk of developing it. As always, make sure to do regular dentist checkups to see if there are any developing problems.
