When your gums start bleeding after brushing or flossing, this is a sign of gum disease. Often, kicking your oral hygiene routine into high gear with more thorough brushing and flossing will cure your gum disease and get rid of the bleeding issues. But what should you do if, in spite of following a great oral hygiene routine, you're still suffering from gum disease symptoms? The answer: see your dentist. He or she may recommend one or more of these treatments to ensure that your gum disease is nipped in the bud before it leads to more serious consequences like tooth loss.

Antibiotics

Gum disease is essentially an infection. Oral bacteria proliferate, causing destruction of gum tissue. Like any other infection, it can be treated effectively with antibiotics. Depending on the severity of your gum disease, your dentist may recommend either an antibiotic gel or oral antibiotics that you swallow. Common antibiotics used to treat gum disease include clindamycin and doxycycline. In any case, it's important to use the antibiotics for the full time recommended by your dentist. If you stop taking them early, the infection may just come back worse than before.

Root Planing

Part of the problem may be that plaque – and the bacteria it contains – has worked its way beneath your gumline. Regular brushing and flossing won't get rid of this plaque, so it continues to serve as a breeding ground for the bacteria that cause gum disease. Your dentist can use a procedure called root planning to clean this area beneath your gums. After local anesthesia is applied to keep you comfortable, either a special metal scraping tool or a water pick-like tool will be used to remove the plaque from beneath your gums. Your gums may be a bit sore afterward, but if you keep up with using the mouthwash and/or antibiotic gel recommended by your dentist, your gum disease should clear up.

Flap Surgery

In some cases, gum disease may cause a pocket to form between your tooth and the gum tissue that surrounds it. Since food particles and plaque can get stuck in this pocket, it becomes a breeding place for bacteria, which allows gum disease to worsen. If your dentist finds one or more flaps in your gums, he or she may recommend a simple procedure known as flap surgery. Performed under local anesthesia, this procedure involves removing excess gum tissue and stitching the gums in a way that allows them to lie flush against the teeth.

If you're suffering from gum disease that won't go away when you brush and floss more thoroughly, make sure you contact your dentist. The treatments above are all very effective, and the sooner you have them, the sooner your gums will begin to heal effectively.