Have you ever considered how your gums affect your apparent state of youth? Ever hear the phrase, "growing long in the tooth"? This refers directly to recession of the gums. The look of a smile is something that people may consider when assessing age.

If you are youthful, your gum tissue may not have had enough time to recede under the influence of infecting bacteria. However, 20 years later, plenty of time has gone by for gum disease to have slowly done its damage. Since that damage often accumulates over time, you may not notice it until you approach middle age.

Fortunately, you can prevent gum disease. Or if you have already noticed your gum line receding, you can slow or stop its progression.

Gum recession is most often a byproduct of chronic gum disease. Over time, the health of the gum tissue is compromised by the buildup of plaque and tartar near and under the gumline. When this happens the gums become irritated and they begin to separate from the tooth. Over time, the health of the underlying bone structure begins to disintegrate as a result of bacterial infection. Then the gums recede further because there is no longer enough bone to hold them up and they are under attack from the toxins that bacteria produce. By working to keep your gums healthy you can avoid the 'long in the tooth' appearance.

Our mouths are inherently dirty places. Every time we eat food, the teeth grind and rend our meal into smaller pieces. Most of those pieces get swallowed for further processing to provide calories and nutrients to the body. A smaller percentage of those food particles are mashed around and end up resting on or near our gum tissue. These particles sit there until the next time you brush and floss.

The bacteria that are naturally present in our mouth feast on this food too, especially sugars. In addition, if you have eaten food that decreases the PH of the mouth or dries it (as in the case of alcohol), you'll find that the environment becomes favorable for the bacteria which are able to multiply more rapidly.

Keeping your gum tissue healthy may require a little bit more than just brushing and flossing. Since 80% of the American adult population may have some form of gum disease according to the Mayo Clinic's estimate, there is a good chance that you or someone you love has this disease. It's quiet and lurks in the background of your life. Scarcely noticeable, until one day you start to see the difference show up in your smile.

Once the gum tissue has eroded you may need to have special treatments and possibly surgery to attempt to restore it. Why not avoid all that hassle and expense in the first place via prevention?

My dentist told me I had gum disease. They wanted to do what is called a root scaling and planing on my teeth. This involves scraping along the root of the tooth to remove tartar build-up. I declined as that sounded both costly and painful. I also read that in many cases such a treatment has to be repeated. In addition, I know someone who had it done and she wasn't happy with the results.

Upon searching for an alternative that I could apply at home without a lot of cost or hassle, I stumbled across the right combination of 'tools' to help me combat gum disease. As a result, the hygienist told me that I no longer needed a root scaling and planing the next time I visited. The last time I went, there was no bleeding on probing which is an indicator of gum disease.

Our smiles can give away our age. Protecting our gums by preventing gingivitis and gum disease can help us maintain a more youthful appearance. However, if you have gum disease or think you might, visit a dentist for diagnosis and treatment.