In this article, we discuss the causes of gum cuts, symptoms, healing time, and a few natural remedies that may speed up the healing process.
Gum cuts are painful and often bleed more than other areas of the body.
Typically, they heal in three to four days, whereas more serious cuts could take a couple of weeks.
Check out the BIOMAX Series red light therapy panels to stimulate natural healing.
What Causes Gum Cuts?
Gum cuts can be caused by food, including bony fish, hard candies, or even potato chips. Occasionally, they may be caused by sharp objects like toothpicks or a toothbrush slipping.
Flossing too aggressively can do the same, especially for those who haven’t flossed in a while.
In some cases, contact sports may be a cause of more severe gum guts.
What Gum Cuts Look Like
The gums tend to bleed a lot when cut as a result of there being a large blood supply in the mouth.
Cut gums may also start to swell and change color. At first, the gums may look more red than usual. As the wound heals, the gums may turn white in color temporarily.
They may also be swollen and tender, which can make eating painful. Until the area has healed completely, it may make sense to avoid acidic foods like lemon juice and foods with rough edges like potato chips.
Several days after the cut, some may develop a fever and/or chills. If there is still a lot of swelling, redness, red streaks radiating outward from the wound, pus, or worsening pain, chances are that the wound has become infected.
Those who have a serious cut or whose cut may be infected should probably seek medical attention.
Treatment for Gum Cuts
Most small gum cuts can be treated at home with over-the-counter medicines or with home remedies. Here are some additional tips for treatment.
Stopping the Bleeding
If the bleeding is mild, it may stop soon on its own. Blood cells will start to coagulate naturally. The clotting process can take several minutes or longer, depending on the severity of the cut.
If bleeding is heavy or continues for more than 10 minutes, one may want to gently press a clean cloth or tissue to the wound to assist with the clotting process.
Cleaning and Disinfecting the Mouth
Rinse the mouth with cold water to remove dirt and debris (if any). You may want to follow up with a salt rinse to help disinfect the wound and prevent infection. Even though the salt solution may sting a bit, it can also help ease the pain afterward by temporarily numbing the area.
Cooling and Pressure
Using ice or a cold compress may help ease the pain.
Dietary Choices
The best diet for pain relief and gum healing includes soft foods that are warm (not hot), room temperature, or cold. Avoid citrus or other acidic foods, and avoid hot spices like chilies.
Easing the Pain
Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help.
Red Light Therapy for Faster Gum Healing
Although mild gum cuts usually heal quickly, red light therapy can be used to help the healing process. Gum cuts and other ailments may also heal faster for those who are already in the habit of using red light therapy treatments regularly.
Red light therapy devices shine visible red and invisible near-infrared light onto the body to stimulate and provide energy to the mitochondria, which bolsters the healing process.
Red light therapy may also help improve oral health and speed up healing by killing bacteria, reducing inflammation, boosting circulation, and stimulating collagen production. It also improves cellular function, which has a positive ripple effect on the body.
According to a 2021 study, red and near-infrared light boosted the performance and health of gingival fibroblasts and reduced cell death.
Periodontal disease may contribute to the slow healing of gum cuts. Red light therapy helps kill the bacteria that cause gingivitis and leads to periodontal disease.
Red light therapy also has pain reducing benefits. In the study above, treatment reduced postoperative pain and supported wound healing in a study that showed faster healing after red and near infrared light was applied to the gums after tooth extractions.
How Long it Takes to Heal Gum Cuts
How long does it take a gum cut to heal? Minor cuts tend to heal within 3-4 days. More serious cuts, especially those that require stitches, will take longer. Infected cuts will also heal more slowly.
When to See a Doctor
Gum wounds that involve significant cuts with profuse bleeding, as well as burns or severe abrasions, may require medical attention. Bleeding that doesn’t stop after 10 minutes may be serious, especially with compression.
Gums that bleed without any obvious cuts or abrasions could point to periodontal disease. This is a potentially serious condition that could severely damage your teeth or harm your overall health.
Seek medical attention for gum cuts that heal slowly, or get better and then worsen. This may signal an infection.
It’s important to see a doctor if the wound has become infected. If the cut shows signs of infection, don’t delay, and seek medical attention so that the infection doesn’t negatively affect the teeth or spread elsewhere in the body.
Mild infections can be treated at home using frequent salt rinses and prescribed oral antibiotics. A more severe infection may require hospitalization.
See a doctor if you have trouble swallowing food and liquids, severe pain that isn’t relieved with OTC pain relievers, or pain that makes opening and closing the mouth difficult.
BIOMAX Series for Faster Healing
BIOMAX LED light therapy panels are powerful medical-grade devices for home use. They emit a lot of light energy which helps more light photons absorb into the body’s tissues.
The proprietary blend of wavelengths in BIOMAX panels features the red and near infrared light, along with trace amounts of blue light. Red and near infrared light absorb deep into the gums to stimulate healing; and blue light kills harmful mouth bacteria on the gum surface.
Red light therapy with BIOMAX light therapy devices has many other uses for oral health, including treating receding gums.
There are also many more ways that red light therapy can improve your health. The Learning Center contains a lot of information about how this natural treatment can be used to manage pain, reduce inflammation, improve muscle recovery, treat chronic skin disorders like acne, and much more.
