Dental braces are orthodontic appliances that help adjust and move teeth gradually over time. They help treat conditions like jaw misalignment and crooked teeth.
You may experience pain and swelling of the gums from the braces on your teeth. The discomfort is expected when you receive the appliance or during monthly adjustments. Unfortunately, swollen gums also indicate a dental condition, gingivitis.
This blog explains how and why orthodontic treatment in Pleasanton can address and alleviate gum swelling and inflammation, along with discussing treatment options and preventive measures.
Understanding Early Gingivitis with Braces
You may experience swollen and tender gums with braces for various reasons. They include the following:
- Inappropriate oral hygiene allows food particles and dental plaque to stick to your braces. Bacteria grow on the plaque to induce inflammation of the gums resulting in early-stage gingivitis.
- Moving your teeth can also induce inflammation around your teeth, causing lower-than-usual bacteria on the dental plaque to result in similar problems.
- If systemic conditions like diabetes and obesity affect you, they make you more prone to inflamed gums.
Teeth Alignment
Realigning your teeth is a significant task. Although you cannot see your teeth moving, the constant pressure applied by the braces can cause changes in your gums and jawbone. Swollen gums and discomfort are standard reactions when receiving braces from the Pleasanton orthodontist. The orthodontic appliance needs adjustments monthly to cause gum discomfort. The pain is expected and not abnormal. However, brushing and flossing your teeth, as the dentist recommends, can help reduce early-stage gingivitis and swollen gums with braces.
Gingivitis
When orthodontic braces start moving your teeth, tiny spaces open up between your teeth. The spaces become convenient for plaque and food particles to remain trapped where the bacteria can grow to induce inflammation. If you confront challenges cleaning your teeth because the braces are hampering you, it can result in plaque buildup, gingivitis, and swollen gums. Gingivitis can destroy bone tissue around your teeth, causing irreversible damage. Therefore you must keep high levels of oral hygiene when undergoing orthodontic treatment.
Swollen gums resulting from plaque buildup and gingivitis need treatment and care from periodontist Pleasanton. Many people visit their general dentist more frequently when receiving treatment for teeth straightening.
Gingival Hyperplasia
Plaque buildup and gum irritation from the braces can trigger gingival hyperplasia or gingival enlargement resulting in an overgrowth of gum tissue around your teeth. Braces causing gingival hyperplasia reduce effective dental hygiene practices. The overgrowth subsides six to eight weeks after removing braces while maintaining excellent dental hygiene. Unfortunately, some patients may experience fibrotic gums to require surgical removal.
Tips for Managing Swollen Gums with Braces
You can soothe at home using saltwater to rinse several times daily. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication also helps reduce swelling and pain from this problem. Avoiding challenging foods that are difficult to chew when your gums are tender is beneficial. However, flossing between teeth is crucial to minimize the pain and inflammation of your gums. The Pleasanton orthodontist suggests using a WaterPik or unwaxed floss to clean between teeth.
Seeking Professional Treatment and Guidance
You can expect gum swelling for about a week after getting braces on your teeth. After monthly adjustments, you must also anticipate pain and swelling for approximately 72 hours. However, if you have persistently swollen gums, getting them examined by your dentist for help is essential.
Therapy
If gingivitis is responsible for your swollen gums, regular cleanings and checkups from your dentist help with diligent at-home dental care. However, seeing your dentist or orthodontist becomes essential if your gums are excessively painful or swollen, appearing like they are growing over your teeth. If the cause for swollen gums is gingival hyperplasia not responding to at-home care, your orthodontist will suggest removing the irritated or infected gum tissue. Lasers are used to treat such conditions.
Prevention
While wearing braces, it is challenging to prevent gum swelling. However, proper oral hygiene can improve the health of your gums and make them less prone to excessive swelling. Oral hygiene reduces your chances of developing gingivitis or advanced gum disease, also called periodontitis. Braces make it challenging to brush and floss your teeth. However, maintaining excellent dental hygiene is crucial to reducing gum swelling from plaque buildup and gingivitis. The preventive measures you can adopt for dental brushing teeth are an electric toothbrush having a soft brush head, using orthodontic floss threaders to clean between teeth and beneath the gum line, and using an antibacterial mouth after brushing.
Besides the above, it helps if you avoid foods that can remain trapped in your teeth and the braces to inhibit infections from developing in your mouth.
If you have concerns about developing gum disease while wearing orthodontic braces to straighten teeth consult Elite Dental Implants and Orthodontics before getting orthodontic treatment. The dental practice can advise how to prevent early-stage gingivitis by maintaining excellent dental hygiene to ensure your orthodontic treatment will not make periodontal visits essential to give you straighter teeth and a beautiful smile.