Young woman smiling in glasses

Practical Habits For Gum Health

Practicing behaviors on a daily basis to protect the health of your gums can prevent bacterial infection and leave you with a beautiful smile. Because your mouth is constantly exposed to the outside environment whenever you breathe, eat, and talk, bacteria accumulate on your teeth and gums. When you stay on top of your brushing and flossing routine and meet with your dentist regularly, you remove these bacterial formations to help preserve your oral health. Neglecting those habits risks the infection of your gums, tooth decay, deterioration of jawbone health, and the loss of teeth. When attending your checkups, your Ankeny, IA dentist plays a critical role in preserving the health of your gums. We examine the results of your daily oral hygiene routine and perform a cleaning to remove bacteria that your brush and floss cannot. If we discover that an infection is present, we offer specialized services to address the extent of your disease.

Oral Care At Home For Gum Health

Practicing your daily oral health routine is about more than preventing cavities. When you brush and floss your teeth every single day, you also clean the space where your teeth meet the tissues of your gums. Preventing the buildup of bacteria on this space protects the periodontal tissues from bacterial infection. Because one of the main symptoms of gum disease is bad-smelling breath, monitor its smell each day to judge how well you are keeping your gums clean. If a chronic unpleasant odor lingers even after brushing and flossing, report this to your dentist as it may be a sign that an infection is present

Dental Checkups And Cleanings

Your dentist is your main partner in maintaining healthy gums. At each dental visit, we examine the health of your gums in addition to cleaning your teeth. We check for common signs of disease such as swollen gums, bleeding, and recession to determine if you require more involved treatment.

Periodontal Deep Cleanings

When we detect advanced periodontal disease, we will provide treatment to remove bacteria beyond the scope of a routine dental checkup. Deep cleanings go below your gumline to remove deposits from the roots of your teeth that feed infection. At each following visit to our office, we will take special care to monitor the health of your gums to control the infection and perform additional deep cleanings as required.

Talk To Your Ankeny, IA Dental Team About Caring For Your Gums!

Gum disease threatens the tissues that connect your teeth to your jaw. This can lead to tooth loss when not properly treated, but regular visitation allows us to detect and treat infection. To schedule a visit, call our Ankeny, IA dentist’s office at 515-207-6182. Additionally, we serve patients who live in Alleman, Elkhart, Bondurant, and all surrounding communities as well.