Treat Bleeding Gums with Ayurveda

Bleeding gum is considered to be a high Pitta condition in Ayurveda. It can be caused due to a variety of reasons, the most common ones being deficiency of vitamin C, side effect of medicines like Aspirin, plaque, and even incorrect brushing technique.

Knowing and understanding the causes are important, as Ayurveda aims to remove these. Let’s look at the causes first:

Causes of Bleeding Gums

Tooth plaque is the most common cause of gum bleeding. Tooth plaque is caused by bacteria and leads to swelling and inflammation of the gum, a condition known as gingivitis. Gums become swollen and spongy and eventually bleed!

Other causes of bleeding gums are:

• Any other bleeding disorder
• Incorrect flossing technique or brushing technique
• Injury to the gum line due to wrong dentures etc.
• Leukaemia or blood cancer
• Hormonal changes, common among women during pregnancy
• Vitamin C deficiency diseases like scurvy or deficiency of vitamin K
• Side effects of blood thinning medicines like aspirin
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a disease when your body’s immune system attacks your platelets

Gum bleeding is quite common among the fairer sex during their puberty. Production of certain hormones increases during this time. This results in an increased blood flow to the gums. This can lead to bleeding. This condition might worsen when their dates of menstruation are nearing. Women under birth control medication can also experience bleeding gums.

Bleeding Gums from Ayurvedic Point of View

Bleeding from gums or Spongy gum or ‘Sheetada’, as it is called in Ayurveda, is one of the fifteen gum diseases. It involves two doshas – Kapha and Pitta.

Origin

The causative agent or factor will impair Rakta and Kapha and lodge in the softest part of the body like your gums. It reduces the firmness and strength of the muscular tissue. This in turn injures the gums inside and leads to bleeding.

Bleeding from the gum accompanied by pain becomes common in the case of Spongy gum. You can also experience horripilation in the nearby areas of your skin. Numbness, hypersensitivity, sweetness of the mouth is some of the other symptoms of spongy gums.

Treatments

Ayurveda offers the following line of treatment for Sheetada:

1. Shodhana or purification of the body by mild purgation (mriduvirechana) and emesis (vamana). This helps to mitigate the two imbalanced doshas – Kapha and Pitta.
2. Gandusha and Kavala involves taking-in oil produced from medicated paste or oils from astringent herbal drugs and gargling. It strengthens your gums and purifies the blood as well.
3. Nyasa and this depends on the doshic dominance. If your Vata is damaged badly, then oleaginous medicines like Triphalaghrita or taila are used for forced nasal discharge. If it is a case of Pitta dominance, medicines like Yashtimadhu is used.

A number of single drugs are also prescribed in the case of Sheetada like Amla, Haritaki, Yashtimadhu, Lajjalu, Sariva, Manjistha, Raisins, and Musta.

Precautions to Take

Proper oral care is important to prevent your gums from bleeding. Try and visit a dentist at least once in six months. Make use of a soft bristle brush. Floss is also important. Make sure to brush and floss twice daily. Using neem twigs and other Ayurveda recommended dental brush are the best that you can use.

Reduce the amount of carbohydrates from your diet. Rinse your mouth every time you eat or drink something (not water of course). Avoid soft drinks and soda. Increase the intake of vitamin C and K in your diet.

Consult your doctor if you experience bleeding gums after you start taking a medicine.

Tips to Cure Bleeding Gums Naturally

• Take a bowl of ice cold water. Dip a small cotton ball in it, put a pinch of turmeric on the cotton and place it on your gums.
• If you have deficiency of vitamins in your body, start taking vitamin supplements today.
• You can also take a cotton swab and dip it in clove oil and apply the same on your gums to reduce bleeding.
• Ayurveda also recommends applying crushed guava and jamun leaves on gums to reduce bleeding. You can also chew the leaves to make your gums strong.
• Make a mixture of ixora and hibiscus flowers along with the powder of yashtimadhu. Add water and make a smooth paste. Apply the paste on your gums and keep it for 30 minutes. This would reduce bleeding and also strengthen your gums.
• Gargle twice a day with a water concoction of Triphala.
• Oil pulling(“kavala” or “gundusha”) is one of the best medicines for bleeding gums. Use sesame oil for this purpose and do it early in the morning for the best results.