Gum Infection Remedies

Gum infection and disease can be caused by poor oral hygiene or a genetic predisposition. Sometimes, despite your best efforts with brushing, flossing, and rinsing, you may still become infected. Some medicines can help, but many people prefer more natural methods to combat infection.

Cleaning the Teeth

• Beyond the typical brushing and flossing after meals, herbal treatments that can heal your infection faster and more efficiently. The neem tree is especially effective for oral hygiene and health. The tree has been connected to healing many diverse conditions like skin ulcers, malaria, viruses, leprosy, and gum infection. Purchase some twigs of the neem tree. Use the twigs to replace your normal toothbrush once a day while brushing your teeth. This practice can stimulate the healing of your gums, utilizing the healing properties of the tree. Pair the twig with a natural toothpaste made from neem oil, which has been tied with healing mouth ulcers, receding gums, and gum inflammation. In fact, the simple replacement of your chemical-based toothpaste with a natural alternative may help your gums heal by themselves.

Rinsing

• Rinsing with Listerine and other astringents is a given with gum diseases like gingivitis. That being said, natural remedies based on herbs may cause less irritation and pain. Two herbs that act as effective anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial rinses are clary sage and goldenseal. The essential oil of clary sage can be diluted and used as a rinse to heal mouth abscesses, gum and mouth ulcers, and gum disease. Goldenseal is an especially effective remedy against gum inflammation as it has been used for infections on the skin, in the vagina, and in the respiratory system as well. Use 2 to 3 ml of goldenseal tincture in some lukewarm water as a gargle to treat the infection. Alternate these remedies after your post-meal brushing sessions to bring your gum infection under control.

Nutrients and Healing

• After reducing the inflammation and killing the bacteria in the mouth, you can use these remedies to fully promote healing. Once a day at the end of your post-meal brushing and rinsing session, do another rinse, this time with tea from any of the following herbs: sage, chamomile, tormentil, blueberry leaves, raspberry leaves, or blackberry leaves. Any of these will begin to soothe your gums and further promote healing. Vitamin C and E can also expedite healing. Get some powdered vitamin C or rose hips (fruit of the rose plant) and chew them or brush them directly into the affected gums. Do the same with liquid (or opened capsules) of vitamin E. Follow it up with a tablespoon of juice from the horsetail herb to continue to bring on further healing.

Where to Buy

• Since not all of these remedies are available at a normal grocery store, you may have to go out of your way a bit. While there are a few reputable Internet herb sellers (MotherNature.com, Herbs.com) it is best to go to a local natural foods store like Whole Foods or an independent health food store. This will allow you to ask any questions that you might have to the usually knowledgeable employees. Purchasing on the Internet is always a bit risky because you aren't always sure what you're going to get. When you buy it in person, however, you have the best chance of getting exactly what you came there for.