Healthy gums are every bit as important as healthy teeth for a pretty smile, and forgetting to take care of them can have serious consequences for the health of the rest of your body. The same nasty germs that cause tooth decay can also hurt their gums, and only regular cleaning at home and visits to your dentist will keep their smile healthy for life. To make matters worse, bacteria won’t go easy on someone just because they’re a kid. Here’s what kids need to know about gingivitis and why taking good care of their gums is so important.
What Causes Gum Disease?
Kids are often busy having fun and playing games, which can make it quite easy for them to slack on their oral hygiene habits. It might seem like fun to skip brushing and flossing your teeth, but the results of doing that do not make for a good time. Many foods that kids might like contain high levels of sugar, and the germs in their mouths that cause tooth decay and gum disease love sugar even more than they do. Without proper dental hygiene, more and more of this sugar builds up in the mouth, and the bacteria that eat it will grow and multiply. Given enough time, they will start irritating and eating away at the gums.
What Is Gum Disease Like?
Everyone loves the color red, but trust your dentist when they say that your gums are better off pink. If your child doesn’t take proper care of their gums, they can develop an uncomfortable condition called gingivitis that will make them swell, bleed, and turn an angry red color. If your child has gingivitis, it is important to see a dentist as soon as possible to get it fixed before things get worse.
If gingivitis isn’t taken care of, it can turn into a much more painful form of gum disease called periodontitis. The swelling and bleeding will become worse, and teeth might start to come loose because the germs are now eating the gums from the inside. If a child does not get care from a dentist at this point, they are likely to start losing teeth. If periodontitis is not treated, it can allow the germs that cause it to spread and cause sickness in other parts of the body.
How Can I Prevent Gum Disease?
While a dentist can fix gum disease, they’d much rather that a child never get it in the first place. Fortunately, there are things your child can do at home that are proven to keep them from getting gum disease. First of all, they should brush their teeth at least twice every day while making sure to wait for thirty minutes after eating before doing it. They should also floss at least once every day to get leftover sugar and pieces of food out from between their teeth. If a child is older than six, they should use antibacterial mouthwash once a day to kill the rest of the germs and leave their mouth with a fresh minty feeling.
It’s much more fun to be a kid without gum disease than a kid with it. Be sure your child takes care of their teeth and gums with excellent oral hygiene and talk to them about why seeing a dentist is so important. That way, your child’s smile can be healthy for life.
About the Practice
Texas Dentistry and Braces provides the best dental care available to families in Mesquite, TX. Led by a team of seven dentists, the dedicated staff provides children and adults with a wide variety of dental services to keep smiles healthy throughout patients’ lives. Areas of expertise include general, cosmetic, restorative, emergency, and pediatric dentistry including periodontal treatments. For more information on keeping your child’s gums healthy, contact the office online or dial (972) 329-4200.