Your Gay Male Dental Hygiene

We all know the importance of twice-daily brushing our teeth, flossing, and seeing a dentist at least twice a year. But true oral hygiene is much more complex than this. Considering that most gay men are either uninsured or underinsured, seeing a dentist for tooth and gum healthcare becomes seen as an unnecessary expense. Making this choice eventually becomes much more expensive in the long run. If you ignore your gay male dental hygiene, more than your smile will suffer.

Poor oral health can be the result, as well as the cause, of poor general health. Many general conditions increase the risk of oral diseases, such as an increased risk of periodontal (gum) disease in patients with diabetes. Equally, poor oral health has been linked with several general health conditions and their management, including heart disease, respiratory diseases, and some cancers.

Issues with your oral hygiene can range from basic cavities and root canals to needing teeth extracted, gingivitis, and even oral cancer. Research shows that gay males do not experience oral disease differences based on our sexual orientation, but gay men reported “bone loss around teeth” more frequently (35%) than heterosexual (11%) and bisexual (10%) men.

While clinical measures of oral healthcare did not substantially differ between sexual orientation strata, subjective measures of oral health were worse among gay adults versus heterosexual adults. 

We break down what you need to know about maintaining and even fixing your tooth and gum care, from the basic issues to more advanced and complex ones, including STDs and oral sex.

Let’s begin

Basics

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research has the following recommendations for good oral health.

To keep your teeth healthy, it is important to remove dental plaque, a sticky, colorless film of bacteria. Plaque buildup can cause tooth decay and gum disease.

Brushing tips:

• Use fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is what protects teeth from tooth decay (cavities). It prevents decay by strengthening the tooth’s hard outer surface, called enamel.
• Angle the bristles toward the gumline so they clean between the gums and teeth.
• Brush gently using small, circular motions. Do not scrub hard back and forth.
• Brush all sides of each tooth.
• Brush your tongue.

Remember to replace your toothbrush when the bristles become worn.

• Brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
• Clean between teeth regularly, aiming for once a day. Use dental floss or a special brush or wooden or plastic pick recommended by a dental professional. Or try a floss holder, floss threader, or water flosser.
• Visit the dentist for routine check-ups and professional cleaning.
  • If you are at high risk for tooth decay (for example, if you have a dry mouth because of medicines you take), your dentist or dental hygienist may give you a fluoride treatment, such as a varnish or foam, during the office visit. Or, the dentist may recommend a fluoride gel or mouth rinse for home use.
  • If you are at higher risk for gum disease because of a medical condition (for example, diabetes), your dentist may want to see you more frequently.
• Drink fluoridated water. Drinking water with the right amount of fluoride protects your teeth throughout the day. Learn the fluoride content of your community’s water here or check with your water utility company.
• Don’t smoke. Smoking increases your chance of gum disease. If you smoke and want to quit, there are many resources to help you: FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, CDC’s Quit Smoking website, and the BeTobaccoFree.gov website.
• Eat a well-balanced diet. Limit sweets and sugary drinks, such as soda.

Plaque

 It is important to remove dental plaque, a sticky, colorless film of bacteria. Plaque buildup can cause tooth decay and gum disease. Everyone gets plaque. But removing it through regular dental cleanings, daily brushing, and flossing is important. Left on your teeth, plaque can lead to cavities, gingivitis, and other oral health conditions.

Plaque contains bacteria, leftover food particles, and saliva. When you eat, the bacteria in your mouth feed on food debris (like sugars and carbohydrates). This breaks the food down into a sticky, acidic film — what we know as dental plaque.

Regular brushing and flossing will have a major effect on combatting plaque.

Tartar

Tartar is hardened plaque. If you don’t remove plaque regularly, it will turn into tartar. At this point, you can’t brush or floss it away. Only a dentist or hygienist can remove it.

Once tartar has formed, normal brushing and flossing will no longer be enough to keep your teeth and gums healthy and will lead to more complex and expensive issues such as:

Cavities

Holes of tooth decay that form in your teeth surfaces. Treatments include dental fillings, root canal therapy, and tooth extraction. More than 80% of Americans have at least one cavity by the time they enter their mid-30s. Cavities are among the most common chronic diseases affecting people of all ages. The sooner you treat a cavity, the better your chance for a predictable outcome and optimal oral health.

There are three types of cavities

Smooth surface: This slow-growing cavity dissolves tooth enamel. You can prevent it — and sometimes reverse it — with proper oral hygiene. People in their 20s often develop this form of tooth decay between their teeth

Pit and fissure decay: Cavities form on the top part of your tooth’s chewing surface. Decay also can affect the front side of your back teeth. Pit and fissure decay tends to start during the teenage years and progresses quickly.

Root decay: Adults who have receding gums are more prone to root decay. Gum recession exposes your teeth roots to dental plaque and acid. Root decay is difficult to prevent and treat. (If you’re prone to gum recession, ask your dentist if you should schedule an appointment with a periodontist.)

Gingivitis

Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease. It happens when plaque and bacteria build up on your teeth and cause infection. Common symptoms include red, swollen, bleeding gums. Treatments include regular dental cleanings and improved oral hygiene at home between visits.

Periodontal (gum) disease

Periodontal disease is inflammation and infection of your gums and the bone that supports your teeth. It can result from poor hygiene, but some people are more prone to this infection. Symptoms may include bad breath, loose teeth, bleeding, and swollen gums. There are many treatments available, depending on the severity of the disease.

Advanced

If you do not properly care for your oral health, you can experience symptoms of tooth decay, advanced cavities, and infections of both/either your teeth or gums. Common symptoms include:

• pain when eating or drinking hot or cold food and drink
• A fuzzy feeling on your teeth.
• Bad breath (halitosis) that doesn’t go away.
• Red, swollen gums that bleed after brushing.
• pain when biting or chewing
• a loose tooth
• swelling of the gum near the affected tooth
• pus oozing from the affected tooth
• a swollen cheek or jaw
• the tooth becoming a darker color

Only a dentist can diagnose exactly what issues you may have and determine the proper treatment. But most often, one or more of the following oral care issues will be the culprit.

Tooth infection

Root canal treatment (endodontics) is a dental procedure used to treat infection at the center of a tooth. Root canal treatment is not painful and can save a tooth that might otherwise have to be removed completely.

The infection at the center of a tooth (the root canal) is caused by bacteria that live in the mouth and invade the tooth.

This can happen after:

• tooth decay
• leaky fillings
• damage to teeth as a result of trauma, such as a fall

Gum disease

Periodontitis (gum disease) is a serious gum infection that damages the soft tissue around teeth. Without treatment, periodontitis can destroy the bone that supports your teeth. This can cause teeth to loosen or lead to tooth loss.

How gum disease is treated depends on its severity.

In the early stages, your dentist will:

• give you advice about keeping your teeth clean, such as using interdental brushes
• advise you to stop smoking; if you smoke
• advise you to get your teeth cleaned by a hygienist

If your gum disease is serious, you may need:

• to have deep cleaning under the gums
• antibiotics
• to have some teeth removed
• gum surgery

Oral health and Oral sex

Oral health is about much more than healthy teeth and a good-looking smile. The mouth mirrors the body, often reflecting signs of other diseases. Oral lesions may be the first signs of HIV infection. STIs may also transmitted through contact with the mouth. But, there is little to no risk of getting or transmitting HIV from oral sex. Sexual activities that don’t involve contact with body fluids (semen, vaginal fluid, or blood) carry no risk of HIV transmission.

The oral cavity has the potential to harbor at least 600 different bacterial species, and in any given patient, more than 150 species may be present; surfaces of teeth can have as many as a billion bacteria in their attached bacterial plaque, and oral care may not only reduce the microbial load of the mouth but the risk for pain and oral infections.

The various channels in oral cavity that serve as a gateway of entry of infection from oral cavity to blood stream includes any open sores, cuts, abrasions, or bleeding gum disease (gingivitis, periodontitis) in the mouth, the virus can get into the systemic circulation.

The risk of obtaining an STI through oral sex is certainly lower than the risk of infection through sexual intercourse, but oral sex with someone who is infected with certain diseases may lead to your infection. Oral sex includes not just fellatio (cock sucking) but also analingus (rimming).

Condoms can prevent the spread of STDs through oral sex as well as having proper oral hygiene. Open sores in your mouth, as well as tooth or gum bleeding, are perfect avenues for infection.

Some of the newest advice from medical professionals regarding brushing BEFORE and AFTER oral sex.

University Health Centre from the University of Georgia warned people not to brush or floss their teeth right before they have oral sex. Flossing and brushing can sometimes cause your gums to bleed. If you wish to freshen your breath before oral sex, try mouthwash instead, as recommended by the institution.

If you know or believe you are infected with gonorrhea, syphilis, an active herpes outbreak, or Hep A/B, you should not engage in oral sex.

All sexually active gay men are advised to get tested for ALL SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES at least every three months. Not just HIV.

Oral sex: Venereal diseases and infections

Taking care of your oral health from the start is good for your smile and overall health but great for your wallet. Dental care is expensive no matter where you live, and the prices are always rising. Preventive care is always the best and least expensive method of general care.

Tags: dental care, oral hygiene, oral sex