Do You Suffer From Bleeding Gums? What a Gum Check Involves

Keep brushing gently and have the bleeding checked; avoiding the gums is not the recommended response (healthdirect, gum disease). The appointment should establish what is causing the bleeding and give you a routine that is realistic for your mouth.

Describe how long it has been happening, whether it affects one area or many and whether you notice pain, swelling or a bad taste. Tell the dentist about medicines, smoking and changes in your general health. Bring up any difficulty with floss or brushes between the teeth so the advice can be demonstrated rather than simply repeated.

Ask what the gum examination shows and whether professional cleaning or further care is needed. You should leave knowing what to do at home and when the gums need another assessment. If you have tried a rinse without lasting improvement, mention that too. A brief improvement in bleeding does not tell you the full state of the supporting tissues around the teeth.

• healthdirect (Australian Government). Gum disease

Gum disease is linked with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but bleeding gums do not diagnose either condition (healthdirect, gum disease). Those associations are a reason to share relevant health information, not a promise that dental treatment will treat disease elsewhere in the body.

Tell your dentist if you have diabetes, see a doctor for a heart condition or have had changes in medicines. Keep seeing the medical team responsible for those conditions. Ask what the gum findings mean for your dental care and whether the dentist needs to communicate with your doctor.

The immediate dental goal is to assess and manage the health of the gums and supporting tissues. Ask about the proposed treatment, home cleaning and follow-up. If you are worried about your general health, take that concern to your GP rather than infer a diagnosis from a bleeding point. Your dental and medical plans can work alongside each other without claiming that one replaces the other.

• healthdirect (Australian Government). Gum disease

A mouthwash is not a substitute for cleaning and a gum assessment. A dentist may recommend a particular rinse for a specific purpose, but the choice should follow the cause of the bleeding rather than the strength of the product.

Chlorhexidine can reduce plaque when used alongside usual cleaning, but staining and taste changes are possible, and the improvement in mild gum inflammation may be small (James and colleagues, Cochrane, 2017). Ask why it is recommended, how long to use it and what to do if it causes problems.

Bring the rinse you use to the appointment and explain whether it has changed the symptoms. Ask the dentist to show how to clean the areas that bleed and whether hardened deposits need professional removal. You should also know when the gums will be reviewed. A minty taste or a temporary reduction in bleeding is not enough to tell whether the underlying gum problem has been dealt with.

• James P, et al. Chlorhexidine mouthrinse for gingival health. Cochrane, 2017
• healthdirect (Australian Government). Gum disease