It is not uncommon for the gums to bleed during a dental cleaning Whether the cause is a lack of flossing, vitamin deficiency, or gum disease, a general dentist can help make your next cleaning more comfortable. With a few tips or treatments, bleeding gums can become a thing of the past.
General dentists perform professional dental cleanings as part of a six-month dental checkup to remove plaque and tartar (calculus) from the teeth surfaces. The dental hygienist uses dental instruments, such as ultrasonic scalers, to chip away at these substances without damaging the enamel.
Next, the hygienist will polish the teeth using a gritty toothpaste to smooth out the surfaces and make it harder for plaque to form again. Polishing the teeth also brightens their appearance. The final step is flossing, which the hygienist will perform for the patient.
Altogether, the dental cleaning process should take about 30 minutes to an hour. In patients whose gums bleed during a dental cleaning, the bleeding typically starts during the scaling step.
Often, gums bleed during a dental cleaning because of all the poking and prodding. With healthy gums, this poking and prodding would cause little to no discomfort. The same cannot be said when oral health problems like gum inflammation or disease are present. According to Healthline, bleeding gums are a sign of the first stage of gum disease, gingivitis. Other causes include:
Thankfully, there are treatments to help manage or even reverse bleeding gums during a dental cleaning. Many are happy to find that daily flossing is all that their gums need to stop bleeding during dental cleanings.
It is possible to reverse bleeding gums with daily flossing for patients with gingivitis. The general dentist can give tips and tricks on how the patient can improve their technique and make a habit of flossing. The dental hygienist will also clean the teeth more gently to accommodate the patient until their gums become stronger and are no longer prone to bleeding. The same applies to pregnant patients, as their bleeding gums usually resolve after childbirth.
When periodontitis is present, the patient will likely need gum disease treatment from a general dentist. The firstline treatment is scaling and root planing, in which the dental provider cleans beneath the gum line. More intensive gum disease treatments include pocket reduction surgery to clean further beneath the gums or gum grafts to rebuild a receded gum line.
Patients whose gums bleed during dental cleanings because of a vitamin deficiency must improve nutrition to solve the issue. This may mean taking supplements or eating foods rich in the vitamins they are lacking. Always check with a healthcare provider before making these changes.
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Our team at Life Point Dental Athens delivers dental cleanings with an emphasis on patient comfort. If your gums are prone to bleeding, our general dentist will work to manage or, where possible, reverse it. However, the first step is a dental cleaning at our Athens office. Contact us today to book an appointment.
Request an appointment or call Life Point Dental Athens at 706-395-2221 for an appointment in our Athens office.
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