In the words of Lauren Hill, this ones for the men.

Gum health is super important for men and women, but for men there are a specific set of issues that Gum Disease contributes to, that only effect men or effect men more than women. Its important for men to know about these and take excellent care of their gums not just for their dental health, but for their general health too.

Men are actually more likely to suffer from gum problems than women, so its really important to have regular appointments with a Dental Hygienist and follow a gold standard oral hygiene routine daily which we’ll get to in a minute. The trouble is, some of the main health problems men suffer from are exacerbated by Gum Disease so all the more reason to give those gums some TLC.

Heart Disease

Men are more likely to develop heart disease than women, it sucks. Having Gum Disease is also a huge risk factor for developing Heart Disease which sucks even more. This is because Gum Disease bacteria makes its way into your blood stream causing damage to blood vessels, inflammation and problems.

Low Sperm Count & Poor Sperm Motility

Bacteria from plaque can make its way into your blood stream affecting sperm DNA which effects your sperm count and motility so keep those swimmers healthy by paying close attention to your oral hygiene along with reducing alcohol consumption and stopping smoking. You can read more about fertility and gum health on my blog post here.

Cancer

Men with Gum Disease are more likely to develop certain cancers than women or men who aren’t suffering from Gum Disease like kidney, pancreatic and blood cancer. Its thought that bacteria involved in Gum Disease can cause mutations which stimulates the growth of some cancers. This bacteria is present in plaque, so the less plaque present in your mouth the lower your cancer risk. If you think you have any cancer symptoms, however small, you should be contacting your GP.

Prostate Problems

PSA within the prostate is linked to prostate problems. Men who have Gum Disease tend to have higher levels of PSA in their prostate which increases the risk of prostate problems and prostate cancers. Treating Gum Disease reduces PSA - no brainer.

Erectile Dysfunction

Men with Gum Disease are more likely to suffer from this condition because inflammation of the gums damages blood vessels which causes Erectile Dysfunction. Treating Gum Disease improves erectile problems…they don’t put that on the advert do they?

But why does this happen? Unfortunately Gum Disease and these health conditions are related because of inflammation and this inflammation all starts with plaque. What can I say, less plaque, less problems.

Plaque will build up on your teeth about 30 minutes after you eat drink or brush. Now I’m not worried about this plaque, the plaque I’m worried about is plaque that has been sitting for more than 24 hours. This plaque is a COMPLETELY different, like Jackyl and Hyde. The bacteria present in this younger immature plaque changes over time to become Gum Disease bacteria which is linked to all the health problems we discussed above.

You can check your mouth for this mature Gum Disease causing plaque with disclosing tablets. You can get these really easily online, my favourite are plaque search by Tepe - remember they’re not just for kids.

Luckily removing plaque on a daily basis helps reduce your risk of developing Gum Disease and the health problems its associated with. All it takes is a few minutes of your day and keeping it up everyday if you can, you should be:

Using something to clean in between your teeth at least once a day. You can read a little more about this on my blog post here. Plaque in between your teeth is usually where problems start.
Using something to clean your tongue. Plaque doesn’t just build up on your teeth, bacteria, dead skin cells, food particles and plaque will build up on the surface of your tongue. Keep these all to a minimum by using a tongue scraper daily - it helps keep your breath fresh too, just saying.
Using an electric toothbrush with a pressure sensor like the Oral B Genius 9000 *or the Curaprox Hydrosonic Pro * that I’m using in the video or my favourite Curaprox Ultra Soft 5460 * manual toothbrush twice a day, for 2 minutes which should be timed, not brushing too hard and angling the brush 45 degrees towards the angle.
Using, ideally, a fluoride toothpaste that meets your dental needs. You can find out a little more about my favourite toothpastes here or I do weekly reviews of toothpastes on my Instagram and YouTube accounts.

In addition to this you should be seeing me, or your own dental hygienist regularly, a minimum of every 6 months or every 3 months if you:

Have Gum Disease
Are a smoker
Have Diabetes
Or any of the other health problems we talked about above.

Generally I see more women than men for dental hygiene appointments, I think this happens for lots of reasons but we need to change this. If you’re a man, and you already stick to your gold standard oral hygiene routine and see me or your dental hygienist regularly this is great keep on going! If you read my blog and you have a man in your life, your father, brother, partner or friend that you feel would benefit from any of the above, and lets face it who wouldn’t, maybe give them a bit of a nudge in the direction of this blog.

Having a good oral hygiene routine and seeing your dental hygienist regularly will absolutely help with your dental health, but it will have a real positive impact on your general health too. Thankyou so much for reading <3 if you have any questions please comment or message me.

*gifted products