Menu
Absolute Dental

Nutrition & Prevention · Absolute Dental West Perth

Why Do Gums Bleed? Causes, and What to Do Before You Stop Brushing

By Absolute DentalPublished 3 min read
Edited

A patient being examined at a dental appointment

Bleeding gums are your gums asking for attention. Usually plaque has inflamed them, and the early stage can be reversed. Brushing less makes it worse.

What’s the usual cause?

Plaque along the gumline irritates the gums, and they bleed easily. This early stage is called gingivitis. It can be treated and prevented with good mouth care (healthdirect, gum disease).

Use a soft brush at the gumline and clean between your teeth daily. As inflammation eases, bleeding often settles.

What else makes gums bleed?

  • Pregnancy. Hormones make gums more sensitive to plaque bacteria (ADA, teeth.org.au, pregnancy).
  • Some medicines, including ones that cause a dry mouth (healthdirect, gum disease).
  • Diabetes. Gum disease and diabetes affect each other (Sanz et al., 2018).
  • Smoking, which raises your risk of gum disease.
  • Brushing too hard, which can hurt healthy gums.

When is it more than gingivitis?

Untreated gingivitis can turn into periodontitis. The area around your teeth weakens, gaps form where germs collect, gums can shrink back and the bone that supports teeth can be lost (healthdirect, gum disease).

Gingivitis can be cured without permanent damage. Periodontitis can’t be cured, but it can be controlled (healthdirect, gum disease). That’s why early checks pay off.

What do we do at a visit?

We measure your gums, clean off hardened deposits and show you where plaque is hiding. If a medicine, pregnancy or diabetes is involved, we plan around it.

See us if the bleeding goes on past two weeks, or if you also notice swollen or receding gums, lasting bad breath or teeth that feel loose (healthdirect, gum disease).

For a treatment option, a powered brush may help (Yaacob et al., 2014). A chlorhexidine rinse can help for a short time on your dentist’s advice, but it doesn’t replace cleaning (James et al., 2017).

Sources

Where To Read Next

Want more on this topic? This page goes further, and it lists questions to bring to your visit.

Gum Health & Your Whole Body

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Keep brushing gently twice a day and arrange a dental check for bleeding gums (healthdirect, gum disease). Bleeding can be a sign of inflammation, so stopping cleaning or assuming that the brush is the whole problem can leave the cause unaddressed.

Use the appointment to discuss where the bleeding occurs, how long it has been happening and whether there is swelling, a bad taste or loose teeth. Bring up changes in medicines or health and any difficulty cleaning between teeth. Ask the dentist to show a technique and tools that fit your mouth.

The treatment depends on what the examination finds. Early gum inflammation and more advanced disease need different discussions; healthdirect distinguishes reversible gingivitis from periodontitis, which needs ongoing control (healthdirect, gum disease). Ask what your diagnosis means, what you can do at home and when it should be reviewed. Repeated bleeding deserves that explanation, rather than reassurance based only on how little it hurts.

Related answers

More To Read.

Bring This To Your Visit.

Call us or request a time, and tell us what you’d like to talk through.

Request An AppointmentCall Us