The Role Your Saliva Has When it Comes to Gum Health
Posted on 11/22/2021 by Barbara Ketchum
Saliva is very important when it comes to oral health. It contains powerful compounds that help keep your teeth in good health. However, other than keeping your teeth healthy, saliva is also vital in protecting your gums. Here is how saliva protects your gums.
How Saliva Protects Gums
Saliva contains minerals and proteins that lower the risk of gum disease. It has important minerals that help fortify your gums and get rid of harmful bacteria. This is why we recommend that you drink sufficient water to stimulate saliva production. Apart from eliminating harmful bacteria, saliva also combats bad breath that can be harmful to your gums.
In addition, saliva helps neutralize acids that can be harmful to your gums. Apart from wearing down the tooth enamel, acids can distort the shape of your gums and make them susceptible to bacteria. As a result, you will develop gum disease. Gum disease is a serious oral condition that could lead to tooth loss if not treated on time. This underlines the crucial role that saliva plays in keeping your gums healthy.
Saliva also washes away food particles and bacteria off your gums. This is very important in preventing the development of gum disease. If bacteria stays on your gums for a long time, it will eat through the gum tissue and leave it exposed. This is a serious condition that could result in bleeding gums. Therefore, you should find ways to keep the saliva levels optimum.
One way of maintaining sufficient levels of saliva in your mouth is drinking plenty of water. Water stimulates saliva production and helps keep your mouth hydrated. Chewing sugarless gum will also stimulate saliva production. This will help keep your smile bright and prevent the risk of harmful oral conditions. Schedule a consultative appointment with us for more information on the role of saliva.