My gums bleed when I brush, should I be worried?

Would you worry if your head bled when you brushed your hair?

I think a call to your Doctor would quickly follow! So it is quite surprising that some patients think that bleeding gums are 'normal'. They're not.

Bleeding gums are a sign of gum disease. For most of us this can be fairly easily managed (notice the words ‘managed’ not cured), but it requires good tooth cleaning including cleaning between the teeth with floss or interdental brushes.

However about 10% of the population can have gum disease so severe that they could loose teeth. We can still manage these patients if we catch the disease process early enough, so there is hope, but we definitely recommend regular visits to the hygienist.