Oral Health

If your gums bleed even though you brush twice a day, frequency is not the variable that is failing you. A toothbrush reaches only about 60% of each tooth surface, and plaque hardens into calculus within 24-72 hours - after which no amount of brushing removes it. Here is what actually stops the bleeding, and when it stops being a shopping problem.

Bleeding gums caused by plaque-driven gingivitis usually start easing within the first week of correct brushing and daily interdental cleaning, and are typically clearly reduced or gone by around two weeks. If they are still bleeding after that, the cause is not your technique - it is calculus below the gum line or a systemic driver, and it needs a dentist.

Chlorhexidine mouthwash stains teeth because it binds to the tooth surface and keeps releasing for around 12 hours - and that binding is exactly why it works. The staining is extrinsic, reversible and not enamel damage. Here is who should actually use chlorhexidine, who should not, and how long a course should run.

Most toothpaste does nothing for bleeding gums, because it was never designed to. Only three ingredients have a real evidence base: aluminium lactate, chlorhexidine and stannous fluoride. Here is an honest comparison of what is on the Australian shelf, and how to read a toothpaste label in 20 seconds.

Bleeding gums are never normal. They always point to something underneath — usually gingivitis, sometimes not. Every cause, explained.