Can You Ignore Bleeding Gums?

Provo Dentist Dr. David Bennett and staff are constantly striving to provide that latest innovations, education, technology, and service options for their patients. To discover what the latest advances in dentistry are, on-going or continuing education is a primary focus for Utah’s best Dentists at Advanced Dental Care. Among many other things learned there is a strong correlation between oral health and overall health and to answer the questions is it normal for gums to bleed and why is it bad if they do?

To understand how bleeding gums affect your health, it is important to understand two things. First, where there is bleeding, there is infection. If your gums bleed when you brush your teeth and/or floss, you have gum infection (gingivitis and/or periodontitis). Second, bacteria in your mouth travel to other parts of your body. They do this by moving through your bloodstream, by being swallowed into your digestive system and by being aspirated into your lungs.

Specific oral bacteria have been linked to several systemic problems. These include:

-Heart disease -Strokes -Diabetes -Pneumonia -COPD -Ear infections -Brain abscesses -Ulcers and -IBS (Chron’s disease and ulcerative colitis).

Controlling the bacteria load in your mouth can limit the amount of oral bacteria that is able to create havoc in the rest of your body. Additionally, inflammation in any part of your body affects your entire body. This is important to realize because infected gums are a sneaky and often undiagnosed source of inflammation. Inflammation has been associated with many health issues such as:

-Cardiovascular disease -Diabetes -Rheumatoid arthritis -Obesity, sleep disorders -Cancer -Impotence and -Infertility. Infection and inflammation in any part of your body should NEVER, NEVER EVER be ignored.

Some of us are even more susceptible to inflammation than others. Some of the things that can affect your susceptibility are age, tobacco use, genetic predisposition, stress, certain prescription drug use, lowered immune function, poor nutrition, obesity, puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.

Fortunately, gum infection is fairly easy to treat and control. It is important to regularly visit your dentist for a comprehensive periodontal examination. You can

visit www.previser.com/aap/default.aspx to take an online risk assessment test but it is still important to visit your dentist for a diagnosis.

For more information on the systemic issues that relate to your oral health, visit www.Perio.org or talk with your Orem dentist Dr. David Bennett and his staff.

Call Advanced Dental Care today to schedule an appointment 801-375-1414!