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Gingivitis Home Treatments & Tips
Although I have quite a fear of dentists, something that’s changed for me as I’ve gotten older is a sincere desire to have healthy teeth that will last me as long as possible. Before, my fear of dentists ruled and that meant my teeth and gums suffered for it.
I have a few bad habits that don’t help (love coffee, pop, sweets, hate flossing), but I’ve been able to manage bouncing my gums and teeth back into pretty good shape. A big part of my success has been seeing a dentist regularly as well as putting my mouth under the capable hands of great dental hygienist.
They can’t work magic overnight though, and if you’ve neglected professional dental care for years like I did (phobic!), chances are your gums are suffering. They start to recede, your teeth are more sensitive and when your gums get bad enough, real dental problems develop that you can’t turn back.
Here are a couple home treatments you can try if you’re struggling with gingivitis problems or trying to prevent them…
Gingivitis Home Treatments
Treatment #1:
- Mix 1/2 cup warm water with 1 TBS apple cider vinegar and use as a mouth rinse for about 1 minute. Spit out the water, don’t swallow.
Treatment #2:
1 or 2 TBS salt
Glass of warm water
- Mix the two ingredients then swish around in your mouth for about a minute. Spit out the water.
Product Recommendation:
- Listerine (original) is not tasty or pleasant, but you get used to it. A daily rinse with this stuff will help your gums improve. Many times I’ve heard this recommended for smokers (your teeth & gums really suffer if you smoke). The Listerine can make your mouth feel like it’s on fire or experiencing a severe acid burn (or what I imagine one would feel like, lol), but that eases over time the more you use it.
Gum Helper Tips
Bohemian Revolution recommends not brushing teeth too hard to prevent gum damage (see Don’t Brush Your Teeth Too Hard), it’s a bad habit I’ve had to fight myself and my gums were receding because of it (along with poor gum care). Something that’s helped is adding an extra tooth brushing session to my day, just a light scrub, and being more careful how I brush my teeth.
Dental Floss:
No getting around it, flossing your teeth daily can bounce those gums back into place. If you find it clumsy, messy and awkward (like I do), you can try different flossing tools. Check your local drugstore, something might appeal to you more than just working with straight floss.
Periodontal disease can be successfully fought with a few no-hassle steps (listed above) and a commitment to professional dental care. Let’s keep our teeth as long as we can!
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I echo the outlook of the above Tipnut. I HATE to care for my teeth, and by the time I was 55, neglect caught up to me.
Before we relocated two years ago, the dentist I had said I would have to have minor surgery to ward off the receding gumline (at a price of $900×4; $900 each for top left, top right, lower left, lower right) and don’t wait. Once we got up to Alaska, I saw a dentist right away. He said the surgery wouldn’t do enough good to warrant the cost. Instead, he told me that at the end of the day, brush my teeth as I regularly do, and then brush my teeth with baking soda — don’t swallow it, but spit it out and don’t rinse my mouth.
I’ve always flossed, but I found that the Butler’s Floss Picks have helped bring about a major improvement as well.
So this is now my routine. In the morning, I floss and pick with the flosspick (this takes about three minutes), use a prerinse mouthwash, brush my teeth with a battery-powered toothbrush, use a post-rinse mouthwash (I’m sorry, you may be right about Listerine, but I can’t do it!). In the evening, I usually flosspick again, use a prerinse mouthwash, brush my teeth with my manual toothbrush, rinse, then put about a tablespoon of baking soda in the palm of my hand. I fill my brush with the baking soda, and go around the mouth gently with the baking soda. Then I spit out what’s left and go to bed. By the way, my husband says my breath is a little more fresh in the morning since I started this bedtime routine.
After six months, the dental technician couldn’t believe the change. It’s been two years now, and the technician says that if i would stop my routine, my gums would regress significantly.
I’m thankful for a dentist who was honest enough not to be greedy and go for what would fill his pocket (i.e. dental surgery).
Lois, I have a similiar problem to yours. You mention using a prerinse and postrinse mouthwash. What kind do you use? I currently use listerine and a homemade concoction that has baking soda and salt in it.
I’m 20 years old and I’m experiencing problems with my teeth. Is it normal for people my age to have receding gums? I brush everyday and floss often … I don’t understand why this would happen to me. I can’t see a dentist. But, I don’t want to lose my teeth or have them turn colors. Help?
Haleigh, I am 26 and also experiencing gingivitis and receding gums. But for me, I know it it my laziness in daily care and no professional cleanings every 6 months (no health insurance.) For you, is it possible that the problem could stem from poor nutrition? If your diet is mostly fresh fruits, veggies, and whole grains, then this may not be it. But if you diet is mostly cooked and processed foods (not whole, and home-made food,) then perhaps this is the cause of your gum disease.
In any case, if you are brushing properly daily and flossing often, I don’t think this is “normal” but I believe you can manage your problem without a dentist. Consider using the baking soda method, or others like tea tree oil or salt rinses. I’ve been using a diluted hydrogen peroxide rinse but I can’t recommend it at this point. Definitely be sure to be eating whole, raw fruits and veggies like apples or carrots and perhaps consider a Vitamin C supplement and Zinc supplement. There is a lot of information on the internet.
That’s how I found this one, and I’m going to try the evening baking sode technique. I can’t lose my teeth!