What Your Gums Are Trying to Tell You — And 5 Things to Start Doing Today

When we think about health, we tend to think about food, hormones, stress, exercise, our gut, our liver and our blood tests. But how many people genuinely think about the health of their mouth unless they have toothache or they're due at the dentist? Probably not many.

Your gums, teeth and oral microbiome are all part of your health. Your mouth isn't separate from the rest of your body and poor oral health has been associated with health problems elsewhere in the body.

Looking after your teeth and gums isn't just about having nice teeth. It's another part of looking after your health long term and there are some really simple things you can start doing.

Why Your Oral Health Matters

We have this strange relationship with dental health where we tend to wait until something hurts. You get toothache, your gums start bleeding or something breaks and then you go to the dentist.

But we need to start thinking about our mouths in the same way we think about the rest of the body. Prevention first.

Your mouth contains a whole community of bacteria. This is your oral microbiome. Just like we talk about balance within the gut microbiome, the environment inside your mouth matters too.

There are hundreds of species of bacteria living there and some are completely normal. The problem comes when the environment changes and harmful bacteria begin to thrive. Poor oral hygiene can allow plaque to build up and the gums can become inflamed.

You might notice bleeding when brushing, red or swollen gums, bad breath, gum recession or sensitivity. And sometimes women just ignore it.

I've been there. Years ago, I was scared to go to the dentist because I thought, gosh, I don't want a huge bill. But it shouldn't be ignored.

When I go through a 1:1 consultation with clients on my 12 week One Life programme, I always ask about their teeth and gums. I hear so many clients say, “My gums bleed, but my gums have always bled.”

Bleeding gums deserve attention. If your face kept bleeding every time you touched it, you would pay attention, so your teeth and gums shouldn't be treated differently.

If your gum tissue is repeatedly inflamed, you should be asking why rather than simply accepting it.

Common doesn't automatically mean normal and it doesn't mean something should be ignored.

Your Mouth Is Not Separate From Your Body

This is the bit I find fascinating. We tend to divide the body into completely separate areas. The dentist deals with your teeth, the GP deals with everything else and the nutritionist talks about food.

But your body doesn't operate like that.

Your mouth is connected to your bloodstream and your digestive system. Everything that goes into your digestive system has to go through your mouth. It is also connected to your immune system and your gums are living tissue.

When gum disease develops, bacteria and inflammatory products in the mouth can interact with the rest of the body. This is why gum disease has been associated with so many different health conditions.

Oral health shouldn't be treated like a completely separate cosmetic issue. It is part of whole body health.

When we're talking about cancer prevention, reducing inflammation and protecting long term health, we need to be looking at the whole body.

Teeth And Their Connection To The Body

Every single one of your teeth is connected to a channel in your body. I learnt about this many years ago when my nan went to Swiss Biohealth and had treatment there.

She was shown how every tooth is connected via a meridian in the body and how different teeth are associated with different areas.

What was crazy to me was the tooth she was having trouble with. She had previously had a root canal in that tooth and the meridian was connected to her stomach, which she has had many issues with.

But to get through to the stomach, that meridian line goes through the breast. And it was that breast that she had cancer in.

That experience completely changed how I thought about dental health. It is also why I think it is so important to see a dentist who understands this side of health.

The majority of conventional dentists have no clue about any of this. This is why I now have a holistic dentist. I have to travel to London, but it's once a year and for me it is completely worth it.

Sugar Matters Here Too

Sugar is another place where different areas of our health connect. We already know that consuming huge amounts of refined sugar isn't something we want to be doing, but your mouth gives us another reason to think about how often you're having it.

Certain bacteria in dental plaque metabolise sugars and produce acids. Those acids contribute to tooth decay, which is why constantly eating sugary foods and drinks throughout the day matters.

It isn't simply a case of asking, “Did I eat sugar?”

Frequency matters too.

If you're sipping a sugary coffee for hours, then having a snack, then another sweet drink and then another snack, you're repeatedly changing the environment inside your mouth.

This isn't about never eating cake. It's about understanding what you do repeatedly.

The same principle applies to so many areas of health. One decision isn't what builds your health. Your repeated habits do.

Your Gums Can Give You Information

When was the last time you actually looked at your mouth? And I don't mean checking whether your teeth are white. I mean actually looking at your health.

Next time you floss or brush your teeth, pay attention to what you're seeing. Do your gums bleed? Are they swollen or receding? Do you have bad breath even though you brush twice a day? Have your teeth become loose? Do you get frequent ulcers or sores? Is there anything in your mouth that has changed or isn't healing?

Your body communicates with you all the time. We need to stop automatically ignoring things simply because we have become used to them.

5 Ways To Support Your Oral Health

This doesn't require another £200 worth of supplements. It is literally the basics.

1. Brush properly twice a day

And not really hard. Brushing harder doesn't mean you're doing a better job. How you brush matters.

2. Clean between your teeth every day

Your toothbrush can't properly clean every surface between your teeth, which is why you need to floss.

I floss every day and even when I go to the dentist there are still some little gaps that I cannot clean properly. I always think to myself, imagine if I didn't floss.

The majority of our teeth aren't perfectly straight. There are going to be tiny overlaps and areas your toothbrush simply isn't reaching and this is where problems can start.

3. Think about how frequently you're consuming sugary foods and drinks

It isn't only the amount. Think about frequency too.

Constantly grazing or sipping sugary drinks throughout the day means your mouth is repeatedly being exposed. Again, this doesn't mean never having sugar. It means understanding the effect of what you repeatedly do.

4. Brush your teeth before breakfast and away from food

As a kid, I would get up, have breakfast and then brush my teeth before school. I did that for years.

Now I brush before breakfast and away from food. Brushing immediately after certain foods and drinks isn't something I want to be doing, especially when acids can temporarily soften the enamel.

5. Think about the toothpaste you're using

This is one of the most important ones for me.

There are so many brands sold in supermarkets containing ingredients I personally don't want to be exposing myself to every single morning and night.

We often think that because we're not swallowing toothpaste, it doesn't matter. But toothpaste is still sitting around your teeth, gums and the rest of your mouth.

I want to know what I'm putting there twice every single day.

A brand I personally recommend is Gutology.

This is another part of toxin reduction for me. You don't need to become terrified of every product in your bathroom, but you do need to start paying attention to the things you're using repeatedly.

Do Your Own Oral Health Audit

Take a few minutes and actually look inside your mouth. Look at your gums, your tongue and around your mouth.

Think about when you last had a dental check. Do your gums regularly bleed? Are you cleaning between your teeth? Are you brushing twice a day? Are you constantly grazing on sugary foods or drinks? What toothpaste are you using?

These are such basic things, but these are also the things we can become completely blind to because we do them every day.

Why I Changed The Way I Look After My Own Teeth

I remember going to my first ever appointment with my holistic dentist and finding out that I had been brushing my teeth wrong pretty much my entire life.

The order was wrong. The pressure I was using was too hard and the toothpaste I was using was shocking.

I couldn't believe I'd been doing the same thing every single day without questioning it.

My teeth also used to be so sensitive. Now they are completely different and I don't experience the sensitivity I used to.

I was also told I needed some fillings. After changing the way I looked after my teeth and using Gutology, at later appointments I was told I no longer needed some of those fillings.

That experience completely changed the way I looked at something as basic as brushing my teeth.

The things we already do every morning and every evening aren't just chores. They're another opportunity to look after the body that has to carry us through the rest of our lives.

That's prevention.

Oral Health, Inflammation And Cancer Prevention

When people search how to lower inflammation naturally, food is normally one of the first things they think about. But the body works as a whole and inflammation isn't something we should only think about in relation to our diet.

The same applies to cancer prevention.

Cancer risk is complex and there is never going to be one single food, product or habit that determines whether somebody develops cancer. But the way we look after ourselves every day matters.

Nutrition, hormones, stress, lifestyle, our environment, toxin reduction and inflammation are all areas I look at when thinking about long term health.

This is also why conversations around hormone imbalance and cancer risk matter. Looking after your health means looking beyond one symptom or one part of your body and understanding what is happening as a whole.

If you want to reduce cancer risk naturally, prevention needs to become part of everyday life rather than something you suddenly think about after a diagnosis or health scare.

This applies outside the home too. Cancer prevention in the workplace needs to go further than telling employees to eat well and exercise. People need to understand the everyday practices that support their long term health and be given the knowledge to actually implement them.

Become The Person Who Knows How To Look After Their Body

Imagine getting to a point where you genuinely understand your body. You understand what you're eating, your blood sugar, your hormones, your environment, your sleep and your nervous system. Even something as basic as your mouth is something you know how to look after properly.

That is the type of person I want my clients to become.

Someone who knows they are looking after themselves properly.

I don't want people getting to 60 and wishing they had taken their health more seriously when they had the chance.

I want people to understand their body, know what supports it and know that the things they do every day are building the healthiest version of themselves for the one life they get.

Ready To Look At Your Health As A Whole?

This is why I don't look at one part of somebody's body when I work with them. Your body isn't a collection of separate departments. Everything in the body works as a whole.

Inside my One Life 1:1 programme, we look deeper than one symptom or one area of your health. We look at your nutrition, hormones, mineral levels, stress, lifestyle, environment and toxin exposure.

We look at what your body is telling us and what we can personally change to support your health now and protect your health for the future.

I want you to become the type of person who knows they are looking after themselves properly. Someone who doesn't get to 60 and wish they had taken their health more seriously when they had the chance.

Someone who understands their body, knows what supports it and has daily practices that are building the healthiest version of themselves for the one life they get.

If you're ready to understand your body on a deeper level and take your future health seriously now, apply for my One Life 1:1 programme.