Has your child ever come to you complaining about sensitive, swollen, or even bleeding gums after brushing or flossing their teeth? Although it might be expected for gum tissues to be swollen and bleed after flossing after a long time, constant pain in the gums could indicate gum disease. For children, gum disease could be prevalent depending on brushing and flossing habits. This post is a small guide to what gum disease is and tips on how you can help your child prevent gum disease.
What is Gum Disease?
Gum disease in its minor and most common form is known as gingivitis. Gingivitis will present itself in the mouth through swollen and tender gums that might bleed from time to time. The build-up of plaque or the white sticky substance found on your teeth after eating is the leading cause of gingivitis. Your toothbrush should remove the plaque entirely by brushing and flossing teeth twice a day, but this doesn’t always happen.
Because children are still learning how to take care of their teeth best and due to hard-to-reach areas, sometimes plaque is left on the teeth and starts to build up. When plaque is left on the gumline of the tooth, the gums can begin to become infected.
In the early stage of gum disease, known as gingivitis, it is reversible through treatment from a dental professional.
Tips on How to Prevent Gum Disease
As a pediatric dental office, we look for the best tips and tricks to help our young patients keep their teeth clean and safe from severe diseases. Some of our most important tips include:
Help Your Child Practice Good Oral Hygiene:
At Rigby Pediatric Dentistry, we spend time helping each one of our patients learn how to perform oral hygiene at home best. By brushing and flossing twice a day properly, your child’s risk of developing gum disease will significantly decrease.
Eat a Balanced Diet:
Eating foods that are high in nutritional value won’t only positively affect bodily health but the health of teeth. Help your child stay away from eating and drinking things high in sugar. The bacteria found in plaque grows with the help of sugar and then releases the acid onto your gums and teeth.
Stay up to date with Dental Cleanings:
Having a professional cleaning performed once every six months, along with a dental exam, will help prevent the disease and prevent it from worsening if it is already present. At these cleanings, all plaque is removed.
Treatment for Gum Disease
Fortunately, gingivitis is reversible with help from Dr. Kory Bingham and our team. Treatment for gingivitis will include a deep cleaning of all surfaces of your teeth and especially along the gumline. Through this, your dentist will remove all plaque. When gum disease isn’t diagnosed and treated right away, it will spread and worsen, causing severe dental issues. Potential problems include gum recession and tooth loss.
Contact our Dental Professionals Today!
It may be hard to recognize if your child suffers from the early stages of gingivitis. That’s why we encourage our patient’s parents to be very involved in their child’s oral health habits. If you have reason to believe that your child may need periodontic treatment from our children’s dentist, we urge you to contact our office right away. By scheduling an appointment, we will assist your child in ridding their mouth of gum disease.
If your child is due for a routine cleaning and check-up, please give us a call.