As the old saying goes, "Everything is healthy, don't harden your teeth first". The function of gums is to care for your teeth and help you chew. How to judge the health status of gums by yourself and understand the "health code" hidden in gums? In fact, you can know a thing or two from the color of gums.
The gums are bright red: the stomach fire is blazing.
Common chewing gum colors are pink, deep red, deep purple, pale white and bright red. Pink is the true color of gums and the healthiest color. Due to the abnormal color of gums caused by diseases, there are different types according to TCM syndrome differentiation.
Excessive stomach heat, disharmony between stomach and qi, hyperfunction, inflammation of stomach fire, excessive heat will cause bright red gums, and even serious gum bleeding. At the same time, it is accompanied by periodontal or gingival swelling and pain, yellow tongue coating, dry mouth and bad temper. This situation is usually treated by periodontal scaling, that is, traditional Chinese medicine is used to eliminate local inflammation of gums. At the same time, the traditional Chinese medicines (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi 10g, Clove Leaf 10g, Forsythia suspensa 15g, Lonicera japonica Thunb 15g) for clearing away heat and toxic materials and purging stomach fire are decocted into decoction, and gargled or taken orally in the morning and evening.
White gums: qi deficiency
Chinese medicine believes that you can know qi and blood by looking at the gums. If the qi and blood are insufficient and the body is weak, the gum color is mostly pale white. Often manifested as expectoration in the morning, dark red saliva in the mouth, thick tongue, tooth marks, white fur, accompanied by symptoms of qi deficiency such as listlessness, insomnia and dreaminess, soreness of waist and knees. Drugs with the function of invigorating qi can be selected to regulate qi deficiency, such as ginseng, American ginseng, codonopsis pilosula, Pseudostellaria heterophylla, Poria, yam, Atractylodes macrocephala, Astragalus membranaceus, Ganoderma lucidum and jujube.
People with qi deficiency should exercise more at ordinary times to strengthen their physique. Traditional fitness methods are most suitable, such as Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Sword. In terms of diet, eat more qi-invigorating foods, such as millet, glutinous rice, lentils, carrots, tofu, sweet potatoes, chicken, pork tripe, potatoes, mushrooms and so on.
Dark red gums: yin deficiency
People with yin deficiency constitution have dark red gums, which are often accompanied by impatience, MUBI at night, feverish hands and feet, little saliva in the mouth, dry mouth and other symptoms. Zhu Danxi, the first of the "Four Masters in Jin and Yuan Dynasties" and the founder of the theory of nourishing yin, said: "People often have insufficient yin and often have more yang; Yin deficiency is difficult to treat, and Yang deficiency is easy to make up. " To nourish yin, Dendrobium, Polygonatum odoratum, asparagus, tremella, pear, duck meat, mulberry and other medicines and foods are commonly used, which can nourish yin and promote fluid production.
People with yin deficiency constitution are impatient and easily upset, which is the reason why yin deficiency and fire disturb God. We should follow the methods of "indifferent to the air" and "hiding the soul inside" Usually in work and life, in the face of pressure, do a good job of self-regulation. You can rest in the country during the holidays and stay away from the noise of the city.
Deep purple gums: blood stasis
In the elderly who have suffered from periodontal disease for many years, the gum color can be dark purple, some blood clots or blood stasis can be seen on the gum, and the tongue coating is yellow or white. This situation belongs to blood stasis type in Chinese medicine. Such people will also show some symptoms of blood stasis, such as dizziness, dull complexion, dim lips and so on. Elderly patients with coronary heart disease often have tingling in precordial area, accompanied by toothache and other symptoms.
People with blood stasis can often eat hawthorn slices and drink alcohol in moderation to promote blood circulation and improve blood circulation. Proper exercise is equally important, which is conducive to regulating blood stasis. I recommend dancing, playing Tai Ji Chuan and practicing Ba Duan Jin. People with blood stasis need to cultivate optimism in mental recuperation. Cheerfulness, harmony of qi and blood, and circulation of camp and health are beneficial to the improvement of blood stasis constitution.
Need to be reminded that abnormal gum color does not necessarily mean that the body is sick, and some objective factors can also lead to it. For example, in some areas, due to special water quality (high fluoride, high calcium and heavy metal pollution), gingival pigmentation may occur, which may be dark purple, brown, dark red, pale or light yellow. There are also some people whose gums are thin, close to the bone wall and pale white. These conditions are still normal gums, so don't worry too much.
Text/Yang (Deputy Chief Physician, Department of Stomatology, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine)