When you have infected gums, bacteria can seem like the last thing(s) you’d want. It was a strain of those microbes that caused your infection in the first place. That being said, new research shows probiotics fight gum disease very effectively. Adding more of them to your diet could put your gum tissue on the path to recovery. To learn more about the matter, let your Birmingham dentist tell you about probiotics, their effects on gum disease, and how to get them.
Wait a Minute: What are Probiotics?
Despite their negative reputation, not all bacteria are bad for you. Those like probiotics are a key example of this crucial truth.
Probiotics are live microorganisms (i.e., microbes) that positively affect your health. To be more specific, their makeup lets them combat the harmful effects of many types of germs. That means having them in your body – a home for trillions of microorganisms – leads to all sorts of upsides and perks. With probiotics’ help, you can better support and sustain your bodily functions.
Some of the most common benefits of probiotics include the following:
- Improved Digestive Health
- Reduced Depression
- Stronger Heart Health
- Boosts to Immunity System
How Would They Fight Gum Disease?
In recent years, researchers have discovered another of probiotics’ many perks. This benefit is the ability to fight off and reduce gum disease symptoms.
The discovery comes from a 2023 study published in Clinical Oral Investigations. For this study, researchers put probiotics into chewing gum and asked people with gum disease to use it daily. They then found the gum chewers had less plaque on their teeth after just two weeks or so. Given this reduction, the study participants saw their gum disease symptoms become less severe.
Many who work in the dental field are excited by this finding. If it holds, people can just take probiotics to see improvements in their gum disease!
How Do I Get More of Them?
If you’d like to fight your gum disease with probiotics, you’re in luck. Getting more of these microbes into your body isn’t all that hard.
The best way to get more probiotics is to have more fermented foods and drinks. As it turns out, many of these items use the unique microorganism as their core ingredients. The best known of them include yogurt, pickles, traditional buttermilk, kimchi, and miso. By consuming them as part of your regular diet, you should see less severe gum disease symptoms over time.
Of course, dentists will gladly tell you more about how probiotics fight gum disease. Just talk to your dental provider to hear the details.
About the Practice
Moulton Dentistry of Hoover is based in Birmingham, AL. Led by Dr. Marc Moulton himself, our practice provides warm and gentle dental care for the whole family. That means we offer preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments tailored to your unique smile! By taking this personal approach to dentistry, we ensure each visit ends with truly thriving teeth and gums. For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (205)-988-3360.