Editorial

6 home remedies for bleeding gums

On most occasions, bleeding gums are not a severe oral health issue. It is common, and you can experience it because you have tartar or plaque buildup on your teeth.

6 home remedies for bleeding gums
  • PublishedApril 19, 2022

On most occasions, bleeding gums are not a severe oral health issue. It is common, and you can experience it because you have tartar or plaque buildup on your teeth. Plaque and tartar give way for bacteria to grow along your gum lines, making them sore. Hence when you brush your teeth and use dental floss, you bleed easily.

To avoid this bleeding and sensitivity, you should observe proper oral hygiene. This article focuses on home remedies that can help us treat bleeding gums at home.

Consume more leafy greens

Leafy vegetables include spinach, kale, and lettuce, among others. These green leafy vegetables contain nutrients such as Vitamin K. When you have a deficiency in Vitamin K, you may bleed more because this affects how long your blood takes to clot.

Individuals that are predisposed to blood clots should consult their doctor to know how much Vitamin K they should add to their diet. Vitamin K supplements can ease your bleeding gums.

Doctors recommend that males take one hundred and twenty micrograms of Vitamin K daily, while females should ingest ninety micrograms of the same.

Photo by Nadine Primeau / Unsplash

Use a salt rinse

Using a salt rinse helps to lessen the bacteria and quicken healing. To make a salt rinse, add half a teaspoon of salt to a glass of lukewarm water. Gurgle salt water around your mouth to cleanse it and then spit the salty water. It is advisable to repeat this process frequently during the day and at night.

Exercise oral hygiene

Having bleeding gums can be a sign of poor dental hygiene. Therefore, if you do not clean your mouth well and floss, bacteria found in plaque and tartar continue spreading and cause gum disease. Keeping your teeth and mouth healthy will prevent you from having to treat gum diseases and tooth decay.

Cut down on carbohydrates

Cutting down on your carbohydrate intake helps improve the health of your gums and protects you from gum diseases.  Foods that contain too much sugar, together with carbohydrates, make it easier for bacteria and plaque to grow on your gums. Starchy foods stick to your gums and teeth. They then break down into sugar, leading to inflammation in your gums, decay, and bleeding.

Photo by engin akyurt / Unsplash

Make use of an ice pack

Hold an ice cube or ice pack against the swollen gums to help calm them. Ice usually helps in calming slight injuries that can bring about inflammation. Also, they relieve the pain brought by gingivitis.  When using an ice pack, keep it on the swollen area for about ten minutes. After ten minutes, take a break that is ten minutes long.

THE INCREDIBLE BENEFITS OF HONEY
[https://parentsafrica.com/content/images/wordpress/2016/07/child-nutri.jpg] > If you are a parent whose child suffers from ailments such as obesity, recurrentthroat infections and coughs, then honey may just be your secret weapon tostopping or at the very least, keeping ailments and lifestyle diseases at b…

Use honey

Honey is readily available in most of our households as it is a sweetening agent and a cooking ingredient. It is also common for its anti-inflammatory properties. The anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties contained in honey can help kill the bacteria around your gums.

Squish some raw honey onto your fingertips and gently rub it on the swollen and bleeding gums.  Apply regularly and let the healing properties of honey do the rest.

Photo by Arwin Neil Baichoo / Unsplash

Bottom line…

To make sure that you don’t have to deal with bleeding gums again, observe proper oral hygiene, eat healthily, and stay off too much sugar and carbohydrates.

Celebrate inspiring women with the March issue of Parents Magazine
On this issue Patience Nyange, one of Taita Taveta’s gubernatorial aspirants shares her quest to give a voice to the voiceless; as we celebrate Maxine Wahome

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