Biruk Baye

@birukbaye · 02 Dec 2021

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What do healthy gums look like?

To understand what healthy gums should look like, you must understand the composition of those teeth. The teeth are composed of three distinct layers: the enamel, dentin, and periodontal membrane. Enamel is hard and smooth; it protects tooth decay from ever happening.

Dentin is more porous than enamel and contains nerve endings that make up your sense of taste. The periodontal membrane hosts an army of bacteria that helps with digestion in your mouth by breaking down food particles into nutrients for your body to use.

When you're looking at someone's gums, their periodontal membrane should be acidic (pH 4-6). If this pH is higher or lower, it signals that there are problems.

When gums are healthy, they should appear pink and somewhat shiny. Problems arise when the gums around the teeth look white or red. This indicates inflammation, which can be caused by many factors, both inside and outside of your mouth.

Healthy gums are clean and pink in color, not discolored from excess bleeding. This is an important indicator of overall health since periodontal disease can be easily spread to the rest of the body via saliva. A healthy gum is also taut and firm; not lax or flabby. Lax gums are more susceptible to plaque accumulation since they can become slightly larger due to bacteria migrating to this area.

A healthy gum contains no pockets or pockets which are deeper than 2 millimeters wide. If this is the case, then slight bleeding is to be expected.

Pockets increase lipids (fatty deposits), which can affect the immune system, and increase the risks of developing serious gum diseases like periodontitis (gum infection). If there are patches of exposed bone on your teeth, then bleeding may occur during brushing.

Healthy gums are vital to maintaining a healthy mouth and body since it serves as an immune barrier between your mouth and the rest of your body. Bacteria can get through this barrier and start to attack various parts of the body which leads to further complications like strokes, heart disease, and diabetes.

When examining the quality of healthy gums, there are many factors to take into account, including:

During puberty, the color of the gums will change. During childhood and adolescence, gums around teeth tend to be pink because blood vessels are closer to the surface. During puberty, these blood vessels will shrink and become less visible resulting in a more white look.

This is normal and all people (even those without gum disease) should expect this change as they age. Gums that remain visibly red can be an indication of gingivitis – but not always – it could also be an unrelated side effect from something like medication or even pregnancy.

Cases of white gums are generally the result of chronic gum disease. It's not difficult to spot in adults since they tend to be more irritated and painful than in younger people.

Black gums are normally the result of infected teeth or teeth that have been removed. However, this color can occur in some people without an infection or tooth loss (although this is very rare).

Blackish discolorations around healthy teeth are normal, but discoloration on entire areas of the mouth can be a sign of gum disease sometimes caused by bacteria that has invaded the bone around the roots.