Never Take Your Healthy Teeth for Granted

Gum disease is an oral condition that could have an impact on your overall health. In fact, gum disease has been linked to serious health conditions like strokes, diabetes, and heart disease.

Treating gum disease can be challenging, so it's important that you take action to prevent this oral disease from affecting your gums in the future. Use these tips to minimize your risk of developing gum disease over time.

1. Maintain Your Oral Hygiene

Gum disease is a progressive condition. You don't just wake up one morning with gum disease; instead, it is a condition that develops slowly. Good oral hygiene practices can help prevent gum disease from becoming a problem in your future.

Regular brushing, flossing, and dental cleanings can keep plaque and tartar at bay. A buildup of tartar causes gum inflammation, which develops into gum disease. As such, by eliminating tartar through good oral hygiene, you reduce your risk of being affected by gum disease.

2. Take a Vitamin C Supplement

Adding a vitamin C supplement to your daily routine can be an effective way to prevent gum disease. Vitamin C is an essential vitamin that helps to strengthen your gums and the soft tissues in your mouth.

Unfortunately, many people with a vitamin C deficiency develop gum disease over time. However, by supplementing your diet with vitamin C pills, you can stop your gums from bleeding and swelling. These are two common symptoms of gum disease that can create significant discomfort over time.

In addition to taking a vitamin C supplement, you can increase your vitamin C intake by eating more citrus fruits, potatoes, and leafy green vegetables.

3. Stay Hydrated

Proper hydration is critical when it comes to warding off gum disease. When your body becomes dehydrated, saliva production decreases.

Saliva plays an integral role in helping you naturally fight off the development of plaque on your teeth. Anytime you begin to chew food, saliva production increases to help wash away food particles and plaque that might collect on the surfaces of your teeth.

Since plaque buildup is what causes gum disease to develop, minimizing plaque production can be an effective way to reduce your risk of gum disease in the future. As such, you should drink lots of water throughout the day and try to avoid beverages that can actually dehydrate your body.

The best way to treat gum disease is to prevent it from developing. Stay hydrated, get more vitamin C, and practice good oral hygiene to minimize your risk of gum disease in the future. To learn more, contact a family dentist.