“Gum disease” – now those are words that no one ever wants to hear or have to confront. Gum disease, in its worst form, can actually result in tooth loss or even worse, spread throughout your mouth and affect all of your teeth.

Here’s a scary statistic for you – did you know that nearly 80% of all adults in the United States have some form of gum disease? Gum disease can take on a few different names that you may be more familiar with such as “periodontal disease” or “gingivitis”.

And the range, or severity of the disease can range anywhere from mild gum inflammation to serious cases where the damage to the gum results in tooth loss.

The prevention of gum disease can be a process that is quite easy for the average American. You may be surprised here, but there are some simple, everyday steps you can take that will dramatically decrease your chances of forming any type of gum disease. And below I want to spell out 3 distinct ways that you can actually prevent gum disease.

Following these three simple steps on a daily, consistent basis will go a very long ways to you keeping and maintaining healthy teeth and gums.

#1: Brushing your teeth

Brushing your teeth at least twice a day is one of the best practices that anyone can engage in to prevent gum disease and improve the overall health of their teeth. Most dentist recommend that you brush your teeth at least twice a day – once in the morning when you first wake up, and then again before you go to bed at night. People who don’t brush their teeth on a regular basis or are in the habit of ignoring the importance of brushing greatly increase their chances of developing periodontal disease. However, with some effort and consistency, you can break that habit and get back to a regular schedule of brushing your teeth while making a positive impact on the long term health of your teeth and gums.

#2: Flossing your teeth

Along with brushing your teeth, the second step (or habit) that you can take to prevent gum disease is to floss your teeth on a daily basis. Flossing your teeth properly on a daily basis will help prevent build up of food and debris that lodged in between your teeth. A lot of times, simply brushing your teeth won’t remove all of the food and debris that is stuck in between your teeth, and the longer this stays on your teeth, the more damage it’s causing either by causing decay or inflammation of the gums which is how gum disease starts.

#3: Regular visits to the dentist

Finally, the third step we’d like to share on how you can prevent gum disease is one that is critically important for anyone who wants to invest in the long term health of their teeth and gums, and that is visiting your dentist every 6 months. The standard schedule of visiting your dentist for what’s common referred to as “regular check ups” is twice a year, or once every six months.