Gum Disease: What to do After Assessment and Treatment

Thinking about oral hygiene, most of us focus on cleaning our teeth twice a day - once in the morning and again in the evening. We also probably think about going for regular checkups at the dentist. Both of these are certainly a step in the right direction; however, oral health is much more than brushing the teeth and visiting the dentist.

An effective oral hygiene protocol should be carried out twice daily and achieve the following:

• Clear debris from the mouth
  
• Clean the teeth
  
• Remove biofilm from the tongue
  
• Maintain gum health
  
• Remove bacteria from the mouth
  
• Maintain a proper pH in the mouth
  

An effective oral hygiene protocol requires two things; the right tools and the right techniques. When it comes to oral health, the technique is only as good as the tools and the tools are only as good as the technique - both are of equal importance.

Step 1: Floss Your Teeth

How often should you brush your teeth? The answer for most people is once or sometimes twice a day. But how often should you floss? The answer is the same; twice a day, every day. Regular flossing is critically important in maintaining oral health - in particular the health of the gums. Why? Because the bristles of the toothbrush will often miss places in the mouth, leaving debris and bacteria lodged in hard to reach areas - often close to the gums.

We recommend flossing before brushing, as flossing is done to dislodge and ‘disturb’ some of the debris and bacteria that have built up in the mouth. Flossing also serves to break through the biofilm (which essentially serves as a shield to the plaque) that has built up in the mouth. This helps to improve the effectiveness of brushing - allowing the brushing process to remove more bacteria, debris and biofilm that it would otherwise be able to.

What is the Proper Way to Floss?

While flossing is good for your oral health, flossing with poor technique is not - it can cause trauma to the gums. While flossing itself is done with traditional floss, there are several different tools that can be used to assist in the flossing process. It doesn’t matter all that much what type of tool you use - whether it be flossettes or piksters - so long as they are of reasonable quality and they are used in tandem with traditional floss. It all comes down to how you use it and following the proper techniques.

Step 2: Brushing Your Teeth / Clean Your Gums

Plaque is a sticky shield made up of debris and bacteria and forms mainly on the teeth. The purpose of brushing the teeth is to remove this plaque to prevent tooth decay. However, plaque is also commonly found in another area - the gum gutters. Where the gum meets the tooth, there is a small recess - essentially a gutter - around the tooth, and plaque often forms in this area. Where this plaque is not brushed away, it can build up and eventually develop into different forms of gum disease. This is why brushing of the teeth alone is not enough to maintain good oral health.

When talking about plaque, it is important to understand that it consists of harmful bacteria and microbes. These bacteria and microbes tend to thrive in an anaerobic and acidic environment. Therefore, to effectively combat them, the mouth must be well oxygenated and have an alkaline pH.

The Brushing Solution

This is where the Brushing Solution comes into play. Formulated from a blend of hydrogen peroxide, oil of cloves, peppermint and organic aloe vera, the Brushing Solution is a toothpaste substitute. It is designed explicitly to oxygenate the mouth and restore alkalinity - it has been balanced to a neutral pH of 7 for this very reason.

For more details on the Brushing Solution, click here.

How to Brush Your Teeth and Gums Properly

1. Pour 2.5mL - 5mL of the Brushing Solution into a small container.
   
2. Dip your toothbrush into the Brushing Solution
   
3. Brush your teeth and gum gutters. Cleaning only two teeth at a time, move the toothbrush in a circular motion and ensure the bristles are getting into the gum gutters. Spend about 1 minute on each quadrant of your mouth, ensuring the teeth feel smooth and clean before moving onto the next quadrant.

Step 3: Rinse With Brushing Solution

Instead of rinsing with water, rinse and gargle with the remainder of the Brushing Solution you poured out into the small container. This amplifies the benefits of the brushing solution. It also helps to kill germs on the tongue or in the back of the throat.

Remember; always spit out and be careful not to swallow. Do not rinse and gargle with water after this step - this leaves the residue of the Brushing Solution in the mouth and allows it to serve its purpose better.

Step 4: Pack PerioMix Around The Gum Lines

The final step in our oral healthcare protocol is designed to promote gum health. Made from pure bicarb soda, pure salt, vitamin C (in the form of sodium ascorbate) and natural peppermint oil, PerioMix serves several purposes.

Bicarb soda is a natural antibacterial agent, and it reduces the growth and proliferation of destructive oral bacteria and parasites that are responsible for gum and periodontal disease. It is also alkaline, so like the Brushing Solution, it assists in maintaining pH balance in the mouth and neutralises plaque acids. The vitamin C in PerioMix (in the form of sodium ascorbate) promotes collagen production, which aids in the healing and repair of gums.

For more details on PerioMix, click here.

How to Use PerioMix

Do the following immediately after you have finished rinsing with the Brushing Solution (as discussed above).

1. Place 1 - 2 teaspoons of PerioMix powder in the palm of your hand
   
2. With a moist finger (you can lick it to make it moist), dip it into PerioMix
   
3. Pack the PerioMix powder generously around the gum lines and in between all the teeth. Always start on your upper teeth to prevent excess saliva pooling.
   
4. Spit out the excess, but leave the residue in your mouth for as long as possible. Try to avoid eating or drinking for 60 minutes after completing this procedure.

How Healthy Are Your Gums?

Are you suffering from gum disease or are you experiencing any of the early symptoms but just don’t know yet? Take the gum health test to find our how healthy your gums are and if any action is required!