If the threat of tooth loss isn’t enough to spur you into taking action about the condition of your bleeding gums consider the following.
Bleeding gums, a sign of gingivitis, creates the opportunity for bacteria to enter your blood stream and cause other problems including heart inflammation (infective endocarditis) and heart attacks.
Our mouths are full of all sorts of bacteria for all sorts of reasons. Under normal circumstances, in a healthy person, your stomach acids destroy any bacteria that you might swallow…so it never gets into your bloodstream.
What Happens When Bacteria in Your Mouth Gets Into Your Bloodstream?
If you have gingivitis and especially if you have bleeding gums the bacteria can now escape into your bloodstream. Ongoing research1 indicates that there is an association between the inflammation that causes gingivits or periodontitis and other diseases that are also caused by inflammation: heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, rheumatoid arthritis…even premature births.
The real culprit is bacteria. Bacteria clings to your teeth in the form of plaque…sometimes called a biofilm…and if left to its own devices it will inflame your gums. And if the bacteria escapes into your bloodstream through bleeding gums it can cause damage to other organs. This is why oral hygiene is so important…quite apart from tooth loss…and it is a constant and daily need. Within just eight short hours plaque can turn into tartar, tartar irritates your gums, gingivitis develops and it is not long before your gums are inflamed and bleeding.
You simply cannot afford to be lazy about your oral hygiene.
I Don’t Use Traditional Toothpaste Anymore
Tonight I will get on a plane and travel to the other side of the world. With two stops it will take 27 hours to reach my destination and during that time … when it isn’t always easy or convenient to brush or floss because airport and airplane toilets are not a place I care to dig out my toothbrush… I will use Oral B Dental Picks
straight on to the tongue…swish swish..to kill the bacteria and keep my breath fresh. And it doesn’t matter if I happen to swallow it because it is not toxic and the all natural ingredients 2 are known to be soothing to the stomach (believe it or not)!
And when I do brush (twice a day at least), I don’t use old fashioned toothpaste any more. I only ever use OraMd, The Mouth Doctor.
