Did you ever sustain an injury in your mouth, like cuts on gums, maybe as a child like I did? Can you recall the sting and dull throb of a mouth injury, especially a cut on gums? I know they are best forgotten, more so when the damage is quite serious.
Well, if yours was only a nick, you needed medical attention, or you never experienced a cut on gums, I’ll take you through the details of gum injuries, especially cuts. We will explore their causes, how to treat them, and their prevention.
What Are Gums?
To begin, what are gums? If you thought about the sweetened stuff you chew, you’re wrong. The gums are an essential part of the mouth as they make up the soft tissue lining in your mouth. They protect and house the deeper part of your teeth and give your mouth some beauty.
When you smile, you may reveal some parts of your gums. A healthy gum is typically a shade of coral pink. In dark-skinned people, the gums may be fully or partially dark. This is because of their melanin composition.
What is A Cut on Gums?
A cut refers to a minor injury. It occurs on the gum around the teeth or on the internal parts of the upper and lower lips. These may have different grades of severity. A cut can be a prick on the gum or a slash across the gum, averaging an inch long. The type and extent of the cut on gums will determine the attention it receives.
How Do I Identify Cut on Gums?
A cut on gums presents itself with evidence of bleeding, redness and swelling. These indications, however, vary with the severity of the cut. The gum contains a large amount of blood vessels, so these cuts tend to bleed and increase in size, causing pain and discomfort in the mouth.
Sometimes, you may feel a difference in sensation in your gum or even a sting when saliva or food touches the hurt area. The lining may also pull apart upon injury, further exposing a whiter inner layer.
What Causes Cut on Gums?
Indeed, how do we end up with cuts on gums? These can range from a slight injury to a severe one. I’ve highlighted some causes below:
- Cuts on gums could result from contact between external harmful objects and the gum. They could be caused by a fall, a violent attack, a blow/punch, or sports accidents. Children playing are prone to cuts on their gums, and adults in contact sports or fights.
- Cuts in between the teeth can be caused by improper flossing, a hard-bristled toothbrush and even a toothpick when not used carefully. These cuts may appear as pricks, pokes, or slashes across the affected area.
- Struggling with hard-to-chew food can cause a cut. Imagine tugging at a piece of tough chicken or meat. You may have pieces of food logged in between your teeth. If you try to pick between your teeth with your fingers or nails, you could injure yourself when your nails run across your gums too quickly.
- Apart from these, some people who chew their inner cheek could unconsciously cut themselves.
How to Treat Cut on Gums
You may sustain a small cut and think it will heal on its own, but what if it doesn’t heal as fast as you want it? Cuts on gums can be a real inconvenience, especially when they prevent you from eating or talking as you would like. But if you ever wondered, cuts are treatable.
Cut on gums can be treated by home remedies or by professional medical attention, as the case may be.
If the cut is not severe enough for professional attention, there are some home remedies that you can try. These include:
- Stop the bleeding by rinsing your mouth to remove any food debris and placing a clean cloth or paper towel on the hurt area.
- Rinse your mouth with a salt solution, which is basically a good amount of salt and warm water. This solution helps to prevent the cut from infection.
- If your tooth is affected, you can take a pain medication, rinse your mouth, and seek medical attention.
- Place something cool on it. You can wrap an ice pack and place it outside your mouth. The coolness will help numb the pain. Alternatively, you can suck on ice cubes.
- Drink a freshly squeezed fruit juice. Once your mouth is cleanly rinsed, have a cool and refreshing 100% natural fruit drink. The goal is to boost your immune system and heal your gums quickly.
Is my gum infected?
In some situations, you may observe that your gum injury is not healing as quickly as you intended. Sometimes, the infection is not a result of an injury. Poor dental hygiene over a long while can cause plaque and lodged bacteria to cause an infection. It can penetrate the bloodstream and cause other medical challenges in severe cases.
To maintain our focus on cuts on gums, here’s how to know if your gum is infected. Look out for these indicators:
- Painful chewing: If you take a bite and realise that part of your mouth hurts when you chew, you may have an underlying infection.
- Mouth odour. Some people struggle with characteristic mouth odour, requiring a doctor’s intervention. You may have an infection if you do not have this and observe stale breath that doesn’t leave after brushing.
- Blood when you spit. When your toothbrush bristles are too hard and you’re not gentle while brushing, you may prick your gums and spit out blood. In other cases, when you observe blood, it may indicate an infection.
- Pus. If you have an abscess, it may come with pains, swelling, and discharge. All these mean your gums are infected, and you may need a doctor.
Do I need to see a doctor?
In most cases, a cut on gums may not require a doctor’s attention and may heal after a few days. When this is not the case, a health professional is your best resort. If you have indications of an infection or the cut is not healing, don’t hesitate to contact your health professional or dentist to avoid a decline in your health and prevent other advanced health conditions due to the cuts on gums.
How to Prevent Cut on Cums
With all we’ve discussed, how can we prevent cut on gums? Are they even preventable? Yes. Here’s how.
- Take it easy when brushing. If you like to give a good scrub, use a soft or moderately soft toothbrush. This way, you reduce your chances of hurting yourself.
- Eat a healthy diet. You may not know, but a varied and healthy diet restores you to prime health quickly, such that even if you have a cut, you may not notice it.
- Practice good oral hygiene. Brushing twice daily was not only a marketing ploy to get us to buy more toothpaste. Brushing your teeth two times a day removes the plaques that have formed in your mouth during the previous night and at the end of the day. This reduces the chances of bacteria causing plaque buildup and subsequent infections.
- Avoid sharp objects in your mouth. Resist the temptation to feed yourself using a knife. Also, be careful with the fork. Sharp bits of food, like bones, can also cause a tear or cut, so be careful when eating.
The Takeaway
We have explored what cuts on gums are, how they can range from a toothpick prick to a slash from a fall, and how we can treat these cuts on gums. If you ever experience a cut on your gum, we are certain you now know how best to manage it.
Do not delay reaching out to a health professional if you feel your cut can benefit from medical intervention. Have you ever had a severe mouth injury? Would you like to share it with us?
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