Photo: iStock
- oral hygiene
- Bleeding gums with consequences
- Medical help
- Prophylaxis is mandatory
oral hygiene
Red toothpaste foam in the sink? Bleeding gums is a sign of inflammation and can make the whole body ill. You have to know that.
It sounds so harmless: bleeding gums . It shows up when you bite in an apple or see red streaks in your pelvis after brushing your teeth. Medicine speaks of periodontitis, a disease that affects almost 80 percent of Germans in Germany. One in four of them so bad that the inflammation threatens the tightness of the dentition. Periodontitis costs the average German long more teeth than the dreaded caries. But worse, bleeding gums can also make the whole body sick.
Dr. Harold Eymer, Dentist and Periodontist from Hamburg: " The symptoms are the same in all people." The gums redden and swell, in the advanced stage gum bleeding occurs . " Sometimes it even hurts and many suffer from halitosis. Gradually, the necks of the teeth become visible and are sensitive to heat and cold. In addition, the interdental spaces increase.
Bleeding gums with consequences
If left untreated, bacteria send inflammatory messengers into the blood stream. These rough the surface of the blood vessels. After all, so much fat sticks to it that the blood can no longer flow. It comes to a vascular closure. It causes the heart to stutter and eventually shuts off brain cells from the oxygen supply. Studies by the University of Heidelberg have shown that heart attack risk increases by 270 percent and stroke risk by 170 percent. In addition, periodontal disease promotes arteriosclerosis as well as diabetes and is a possible trigger of Alzheimer's. The risk of a premature birth is increased.
Medical help
If you suffer from bleeding gums, you should visit the dentist as soon as possible. " With the help of a special probe, I check the so-called pocket depth, " says the expert. " The deeper I can penetrate the area between the tooth and the gums, the more the disease has progressed. " In most cases, the guilt of bleeding gums is poor hygiene.
Brushing teeth twice a day alone is not enough; once a day, the floss must also be used. Only then is it possible to remove all food particles.
Prophylaxis is mandatory
Very important is a professional tooth cleaning every six months. The dentist must remove the tartar, because only when the tooth surface is smooth, gums can rest again, so that the periodontal pockets close permanently. The dentist then decides on further treatments depending on the severity of the bleeding gums . Sometimes antibiotics are needed to kill all bacteria. Brushing only is not enough.
