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When I brush and I see bloody stain while rinsing my mouth is that normal? Is it a cause for concern? Does it call for a need to see your dentist? Or life simply goes on?
Many Nigerians don’t have culture of seeing a dentist or reporting to see a professional when there is a little dental or medical ailment.
When you brush in the morning and notice your gum bleeding, is cause for concern. You should also be concerned when use dental floss and observe that your gum is bleeding. You should not just take it for granted and feel that it is nothing to worry about. Really, it is a big deal when your gum bleeds while brushing or flossing your teeth.
There are a number of possible causes of bleeding gum. Gingivitis infection is the commonest cause of bleeding gum. Others are pregnancy-induced gingivitis, underlinig chronic ailment such as diabetes; deficiency of vitamins C and K, excessive hard brushing and early onset of stress-induced oral ulcer.
Gingivitis is a bacterial infection of the gum tissues. The most prevalent type is chronic marginal gingivitis, which affects over 80 per cent of the adult Nigerian population. This is asymptomatic and rarely threatens our daily life and productivity.
However, when bleeding of gum occurs persistently at the slightest touch and the gums rather than being pink and firm, become puffy, red swollen and detached from the tooth it is a dental disease and therefore a big deal.
Bleeding gum caused by gingivitis may not be associated with pain. However, if left unattended to it may lead to more serious dental disease presenting with bad breath, discoloured teeth, bad taste, loose and scattered teeth.
What to do?
When you notice that your gum is bleeding, please go to the nearest dental clinic. Do not engage in self medication and don’t encourage non-dental personnel to handle your dental ailment.
Stop patronage of ill-informed drug sellers to treat your dental ailments. Don’t give room to chance. The simple reason is that bleeding gum can become a bigger problem if you fail to do the needful. Please go to a dental clinic to get professional care.
