What Is a Healthy Gum Line?

While it may seem obvious to take care of your health by eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep, paying attention to the health of your mouth and gums is equally important. It’s important to know what to look for in order to identify problems, but it’s also a good idea to know how a healthy gum line should look.

Identifying a Healthy Gum Line

Maintaining healthy gums and teeth is about good habits. Choosing healthy foods, brushing your teeth and gums correctly and flossing can make a huge difference.

Healthy gum tissue should look pink and firm, without any signs of redness or swelling.¹ A healthy gum line should not experience any bleeding during brushing or when gently pressed by a dental professional’s periodontal probe during an exam.¹ In short, a gum line shouldn’t give any indication of a health issue, and the gums should look healthy and should follow the curve of the teeth.

Signs of Unhealthy Gums

If you haven’t been regularly caring for your teeth or receiving routine dental care, you may notice that your teeth and gums are paying the price. The symptoms of gum disease can run the gamut from irritated-looking gums to bad breath, loose teeth and gaps between your teeth and gums.²

When you seek dental help for your unhealthy gums, the dental professional will look at several criteria to determine the extent of your gum disease: ³

• Severity: If you’re experiencing gum loss or recession, your dental professional will take measurements. The site in your mouth that’s experiencing the greatest amount of gap between the gum and the tooth, also known as clinical attachment loss, is what’s used to determine how severe your problem is.
• Complexity: If your gums are so unhealthy that it’s affecting the bones in your jaw, your dental professional or periodontist will use a probe to determine how much bone has been compromised.
• Risk factors: Smoking and diabetes can have a big effect on the overall health of your gums. Regularly smoking cigarettes can increase the rate in which your gum disease progresses, which can influence bone and tissue loss.

Keeping Your Gum Line Healthy

If you notice that your gums are red and swollen or bleed easily when you brush your teeth, some concern about your dental health is warranted.² Don’t wait to address the symptoms of gum disease – the sooner you act on it, the better. Gingivitis in its early stages is still treatable and can be eliminated with a thorough, professional cleaning from a dental professional.² However, if you hesitate, your gingivitis could progress to a more serious stage of gum disease: periodontitis.²

Keep your gum line looking healthy by brushing with a stannous fluoride toothpaste like parodontax. When used twice a day, parodontax Complete Protection toothpaste can help prevent bleeding gums and reduce your risk of developing gingivitis, while helping to remove plaque and reduce gum inflammation.*

* compared to a sodium monofluorophosphate toothpaste after a professional cleaning and twice daily brushing