How To Fight
Gum Disease



Patients often ask me how to fight gum disease, and about cures for gum disease in general. Reversing gum disease is not easy. There's no magic pill.

IN FACT, it is almost impossible to REVERSE the effects of gum disease.

BUT IT IS POSSIBLE to arrest the progress of gum disease! You CAN stop gum disease from progressing any further.

WHY would you want to?

There are 2 main reasons;

  • The effects of gum disease on your teeth: they will become loose
  • The effects of gum disease on your general health. Recent research shows clear links between gum disease and a number of conditions like heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and Alzheimer's. You can read about the side effects of gum disease HERE to find out why it's very important for your general health, not just your teeth!

How do you know if you have gum disease? There are a few signs and symptoms. I recommend you look at my special page on the beginning stages of gum disease here.

Close-up of a woman's teeth with her right index finger resting on her lip.

The Cause of Gum Disease

Quite simply, gum disease is caused by the bacteria in the dental plaque that builds up on your teeth. The bacteria release toxins and enzymes that cause inflammation in the gums, which progresses to gum disease.

The gums start to recede, and then the bone sockets that hold your teeth in place start to become eroded; then your teeth become loose.

And during this process, the bacteria causing your gum disease are also affecting your general health.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS?  DISCOVER HOW TO FIGHT GUM DISEASE!

Sometimes a dentist or specialist may recommend gum surgery as a gum disease cure.

In my experience, there's no point having gum surgery (also called periodontal surgery) if you are not cleaning the plaque off your teeth each day. I have seen so many patients have gum surgery in the hope of reversing gum disease, only to have it all relapse again inside 12 months, BECAUSE your dentist or hygienist did not show you how to clean the plaque off your teeth effectively.

Gum surgery is useless if you are still leaving plaque behind, even the smallest scraps.

For that reason, I THINK THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PAGE ON THIS ENTIRE WEBSITE!

Do you want to save your teeth, and improve your general health too?

What you have to do is simple. But it's not easy. It will take fifteen minutes out of your day.

Can you find 15 minutes?

It will take a bit of practice. And a lot of persistence.

But you can do it - IF YOU REALLY WANT TO. You will also be helping to reduce your chances of having a heart attack or a stroke, as well as osteoporosis and diabetes.

How To Fight Gum Disease

Here is my step-by-step guide to how to fight gum disease.

First, you will need to get a few things together:

1. Get a GOOD-QUALITY electric toothbrush. I recommend either the Cybersonic 3 OR, if you are in Europe,  the Oral B Pulsonic Slim.

Click HERE to learn more about the Cybersonic 3,

or HERE to read about the Oral B Pulsonic Slim at Amazon.

A good-quality electric toothbrush is essential. I will describe exactly how to use it in a moment.

Remember to check out my top recommended electric toothbrush, which has the best performance and a great price at Amazon - the Cybersonic 3 brush.

cybersonic 3 toothbrush

The Cybersonic 3 electric toothbrush above.



2. NEXT, buy some Disclosing Tablets AND some Oral B Pro Expert floss. This is MUCH easier to use than normal dental floss. Order your Oral B Pro Expert floss directly HERE from Amazon.



A packet of Oral B Pro Expert dental floss on a white background.Oral B Pro Expert floss

3. Use any of the major brands of toothpaste. I use Colgate Total myself, but the major brands are all about the same. Avoid any herbal or "alternative" toothpastes. They have little or NO science behind them, and some can be highly abrasive or contain harmful substances.

4. You also need a special mouthwash for gum problems - I recommend a high-quality peroxide-containing mouthwash, which can be very effective, because it releases OXYGEN. The BEST one is the TheraBreath Oral Rinse, available from Amazon.

So, now you have the FOUR things you need;

  • A good toothbrush,
  • good floss,
  • disclosing tablets
  • and a standard toothpaste.

What's next?

5. FIRST, brush your teeth like you normally do. Just do it the same as always. Don't do anything different. Brush normally until you think your teeth are clean, then stop, and rinse out with some water.

Then use a disclosing tablet just like I describe HERE. Make sure you follow my recommendations EXACTLY on that page for using the disclosing tablet. THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT! You must follow my instructions to the letter.

NOW YOU CAN SEE THE BACTERIA YOU ARE LEAVING BEHIND EVERY TIME YOU BRUSH. Make sure you look carefully for that tell-tale color at the gum edges and in between the teeth.

Teeth stained with a blue disclosing dye to demonstrate plaque.All the stain is disclosing dye showing up the plaque left on the teeth.

How To Fight Gum Disease

What to do next?

Pick up your new Cybersonic3 toothbrush, (or Oral B Pulsonic Slim) and slowly, carefully, let it work away at the gum edges. Most importantly, you also have to go along the inside surfaces of your teeth, along the gum edges next to your palate (the roof of your mouth) of your upper teeth, and along the gum edges next to your tongue of your lower teeth.

This is where you need patience.


It's going to take about 10 minutes to brush your teeth PROPERLY.

WHY SO LONG? Because you have to let the toothbrush bristles sit on ONE TOOTH AT A TIME for TEN SECONDS. That's 10 seconds on the outside surface next to your cheek or lips; and another 10 seconds on the inner surface next to your palate or tongue.

That's TEN SECONDS per surface.  To get round all your teeth, you need a total of 20 seconds per tooth, multiplied by how many teeth you have. Most people have 28 or fewer.

After you have done this, have a REAL CLOSE look at your teeth in the mirror. All the stain from the disclosing tablet should be gone. Congratulations!

BUT YOU'RE STILL ONLY HALFWAY TO REVERSING GUM DISEASE - there's another 5 minutes to invest yet!

How to Fight Gum Disease

NEXT, get out your Oral B Pro-Expert floss, and follow the instructions at Oral B Floss - How to Floss Teeth. This will get to the bacteria that are still in between your teeth, AND under the gum edges! It's really important to realize that you have to slip the Pro-Expert Tape GENTLY under the gum edge around each tooth. The bad bacteria are UNDER the gum edge.

Click here to get your Oral B Pro-Expert floss at Amazon.

An extra cleaning method if you're struggling with how to fight gum disease is to use a good quality oral irrigator with a capful of TheraBreath Perio Rinse added to the water in the water tank. If you are careful, you can clean effectively under the gum edges where the plaque can escape from tooth brushing. My new favorite is this oral irrigator.

The Perio Rinse will release oxygen under the gum, killing the plaque bacteria.

You should see your dental hygienist every 8 to 12 weeks so that she can monitor how you're doing. She will be able to show you where you are still missing plaque with your brushing, and help you change your technique slightly to get that plaque off!

NOW you have removed ALL the plaque from your teeth, including in between the teeth and under the gum edges, you have removed the bacteria that cause all the problems. Your gums now have a chance to start healing; your own immune system can take over.

BUT you have to go through this whole procedure every day, because dental plaque starts to build up on the tooth surfaces within HOURS. So, this is a procedure that you have to build into your daily routine long-term, for it to work.

The dental hygienist will also smooth off and polish any rough edges on fillings and caps that may be acting as plaque traps. This will help you to remove any plaque build-up around your teeth, and help the process of curing gum disease.

I hope my guide on how to cure gum disease helps you in some way. As you see, reversing gum disease takes some time and a lot of persistence. And you can't really reverse it as such. But you CAN stop it getting worse!

You may also like my page on Gum Disease Causes And Treatments.

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