August 2, 2020
Dentists recommend that some patients massage their gums with their fingers, as well as with a brush and other specialized devices. For what? As an additional therapeutic measure in the fight against various dental pathologies. This is also an excellent preventive procedure that allows you to maintain good condition of the mucous membrane, helping to preserve teeth. But to achieve a positive effect, you need to follow certain rules. It is important to know about contraindications, otherwise you can harm your health. In this article, the editors of the UltraSmile.ru portal will tell you who could benefit from gum massage. We will also list effective techniques that are used today.
Indications and contraindications for procedures
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Benefits and harms of procedures
Massage of the gums with fingers, a brush and other devices is carried out in order to improve blood circulation in the mucous membrane, strengthen it, and increase local immunity. If you do the procedure regularly and correctly, it promotes rapid regeneration of cells and tissues and helps get rid of swelling.
When the gums are strengthened, this has a positive effect on the condition of the teeth, because then they sit tightly in their sockets, eliminating the possibility of them becoming loose and falling out due to inflammatory processes in the periodontal tissues.
For patients who have just started wearing braces and dentures, the procedures are useful because they help reduce the level of discomfort, ease and speed up the period of adaptation. In addition, some gum massage techniques are used specifically to straighten teeth and can reduce the time of orthodontic treatment.
Some types of massage (for example, finger massage) are recommended for young children to speed up teething and eliminate the unpleasant symptoms accompanying this process (itching, pain, swelling, redness). Children are also indicated for procedures to prevent periodontal diseases and the development of dental anomalies.
Massage is recommended for infants during teething
There are also techniques that doctors recommend practicing after tooth extraction and implant installation. Naturally, not during the most critical period of rehabilitation (the first 2 weeks), but after the tissues have healed a little. The procedures accelerate regeneration processes, help prevent postoperative complications, and enhance the absorption of certain medications and ointments.
Massage is very dangerous to perform if there are contraindications mentioned above. In this case, it can further aggravate the situation, contribute to the spread of infectious processes to surrounding areas and tissues, and stimulate the rapid growth of cysts and granulomas.
Now let’s look at the basic massage techniques that are used today.
Hydromassage using an irrigator
An irrigator is an electrical device for cleaning teeth. Using a thin stream of water (sometimes air) under high pressure, it gets rid of food debris in hard-to-reach areas of the oral cavity, washes away plaque and whitens, and easily penetrates into the spaces between teeth. Hydromassage of the gums with an irrigator is performed for the purposes of prevention and treatment, and is also useful for people who wear braces or crowns .
Benefits of gum massage using an irrigator:
- stimulation of local immunity;
- improvement of tissue microstimulation;
- cleaning periodontal pockets;
- reduction of bleeding.
Attention! Before use, consult your dentist; he will help you choose the optimal operating mode for the irrigator.
Rules that will help make massage effective and safe
- Visit your dentist to remove plaque and bacterial deposits. Treat all your teeth. Make sure that there are no hidden formations (cyst, abscess) or acute inflammatory processes in the mouth. Get advice on whether massage is contraindicated for you. The doctor will also give advice on which irrigator, paste and rinses are best for you to use.
- In conjunction with different massage techniques, use pastes, gels, and various oils (essential and vegetable).
- Complete the procedure by rinsing your mouth with warm herbal decoctions based on chamomile or sage.
After the procedure, you should rinse your mouth with a decoction of medicinal herbs
. According to some studies, gum massage helps activate points responsible for the health of various internal organs. For example, if you carefully treat the area where the roots of the incisors are located, you can improve the functioning of the kidneys and reproductive system. If you influence the tissues in the fang area, the functioning of the liver improves.
Do you want to restore the functionality of the pancreas and stomach? Apply pressure to the gums in the area of the molars. Massaging the mucous membrane in the figure eight area will tone the heart muscle and vascular system. However, massage techniques should not be considered a panacea. If there are serious problems with internal organs, then the only right solution is to seek professional medical help.
1Balyan L.N. Practical possibilities of using oral hygiene items and products for periodontal diseases // Problems of dentistry. – 2010.
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prevention
Techniques
Massage the gums with your fingers (in the evening) or with a soft toothbrush (in the morning).
- Self-massage with fingers is performed with washed hands after hygienic brushing of teeth in the following sequence:
- Using light stroking movements, the pads of the index fingers of both hands move along the gum from the front teeth to the distant wisdom teeth. Repeat on each jaw 5–7 times.
- Rub the gums in a circular motion, moving along the gum from one wisdom tooth to another, gradually increasing the pressure.
- Wrap your fingers around the gum on both sides and squeeze near each tooth for 6–7 seconds, moving from the center to the far teeth.
- Complete the massage with soft strokes.
- There are several techniques for massaging your gums using a soft toothbrush:
- According to Charters. The brush is placed at the base of the teeth, massaging the enamel surface with vibrational movements up and down, capturing the edge of the gum. At the beginning of the procedure, the affected tissues are not affected.
- According to Shtilman. The brush is positioned at an angle of 45° with the bristles down, and carefully moved along the interdental spaces. During massage, not only cleaning occurs, but also increased blood flow.
- According to Bell. The brush is moved, grabbing the edge of the gum, in one direction - from the base of the teeth to the cutting edges. With slow movements, possible suppuration from the mucous membranes comes out.
- According to Fones. With the jaws closed, place the brush on the teeth at an angle of 90°. They make circular spiral movements along both rows of teeth, capturing the edge of the gums. When opening the mouth, repeat on the distal (back) side of the teeth.
- According to Hirschfeld. Pass the bristles from the neck of the teeth to the edge, capturing the edge of the gum. The direction of movement on the teeth of the lower jaw is from bottom to top, on the teeth of the upper jaw – from top to bottom.
Features of massage for periodontal disease and periodontitis
Massage for periodontal disease and periodontitis is carried out after sanitation of the oral cavity, taking into account the following features:
– gentle types of self-massage are performed with a toothbrush (according to Charters, Shtilman);
– finger massaging begins in healthy areas, gradually moving to the sick;
– after the procedure, the mouth is rinsed with a decoction of recommended herbs or a solution of tea tree oil (7-10 drops per glass of water).
To enhance the effect of the massage, applications are made - a medicinal product is applied to a cotton swab and held on the gum for 15 minutes. You can use fir oil, honey with added salt, or a mixture of 1 teaspoon of raw grated honey with the addition of 10 drops of vegetable oil.
Treatment with applications is carried out for 14 days, followed by a break.
Comments
Will gum massage help straighten teeth? Will this eliminate the need to wear braces? I only have 1 crooked tooth!
Anna (08/11/2020 at 08:12 pm) Reply to comment
- Dear Anna! Massage alone will not help correct crooked teeth. It is prescribed in addition to myogymnastics and other methods of bite correction. But if the patient has only one crooked tooth, then wearing braces, as a rule, is not required. The problem can be solved with removable orthodontic devices (plates, trainers), or artistic correction, prosthetics with veneers and crowns.
Editorial staff of the portal UltraSmile.ru (08/13/2020 at 09:07) Reply to comment
Is it worth giving a massage when a child’s tooth has erupted? If he scratches it actively, will massage help ease teething? Will massage speed up the appearance of new teeth? Are there any contraindications for massaging a baby’s gums?
Elena (09.23.2020 at 08:21) Reply to comment
I have fairly loose gums. I read the article and decided to try massage using the Charter method. I had never observed bleeding gums before, but now blood appeared. Tell me, should I wait and continue, perhaps this is just an adaptation of the gums, or does this already indicate the beginning of problems?
Olga (09.23.2020 at 09:23) Reply to comment
What motivates the opinion of the author of the article that gum massage helps activate points responsible for the health of various internal organs? I’m hearing this for the first time and even Wikipedia doesn’t give a clear answer!
Julia (09.23.2020 at 09:25) Reply to comment
We started massaging the baby when teething, sometimes with our fingers, and sometimes with a special massage brush. Once again, blood began to flow around the tooth (it was just emerging). Does this mean that there is no need to do massage anymore? How then can teething be made easier?
Marina (09/23/2020 at 11:28 am) Reply to comment
My gums constantly bleed when brushing my teeth, no matter what level of hardness the toothbrush is, I use toothpaste many times, nothing helps. Will massage help? Does it help reduce bleeding?
Marina (11/20/2020 at 7:00 pm) Reply to comment
Hello! I am wondering whether it is necessary to consult a dentist before starting the procedure, or can I choose the method myself and change techniques? Can making decisions on my own be very harmful to my health?
Ira (11/20/2020 at 7:16 pm) Reply to comment
I only knew the first one, the dentist once showed it to me. Is it worth doing such a massage if I have a wisdom tooth coming out, naturally there is swelling and pain, or is it better to just use some kind of ointment?
Lera (11/20/2020 at 7:27 pm) Reply to comment
Small children can still do this. I don't know about adults. If only everything was sterile. You need to do this with clean hands so as not to introduce an infection and create even more problems than they already are.
Vlad (11/20/2020 at 08:25 pm) Reply to comment
If you need to do a massage, it is better to consult a doctor. He will tell you and show you how best to do this and to avoid further problems if something happens or if the massage is incorrect.
Pavel (11/20/2020 at 9:12 pm) Reply to comment
