Why Do My Gums Hurt While Brushing My Teeth?May 26 2020

There are a few reasons why your gums can feel tender or be in pain while you are bushing your teeth.

The first is that you may not brush and floss your teeth often or well enough. If you are out of habit of these two things in your daily routine, your gums could become swollen and inflamed, causing them to hurt when touched, or even bleed. Fortunately, this comes with an easy fix. Just brush twice a day, floss once a day, and keep going. The longer and more regularly you brush your teeth and floss, the less inflamed your gums will become.

Another reason is if you have an infected tooth. If you have a toothache, you may have an infection near the root of the tooth, or close by. This can cause really sensitive gums around the area. Contact your dentist so they can diagnose the issue and help quickly. Root canals are sometimes needed, so don’t wait on that one.

A possible explantation to sensitive gums could be hormonal changes in your body. Strange right? Changes in the body like puberty, pregnancy, mensuration, and even menopause can change the blood flow to the gums and cause swollen, sensitive gums, that can be more likely to bleed. If you notice this during one of these times, contact your dentist so they can help treat you.

Overall, if you don’t brush your teeth often enough or with the proper technique, (and floss!) you are going to have gums that hurt when you do actually brush and floss in there. If enough time passes without doing what you need to be doing, it can lead to periodontal disease and other issues, so start brushing and flossing more to help reduce risk!