Health
Ask a doc: 'Why do my gums bleed after I brush my teeth, and what should I do about it?'
If you notice your gums are bleeding after you brush your teeth, you could have other symptoms as well, such as tenderness and swelling.
Oral health is very important — and if your gums bleed, you should bring this up with your dental professional.
“Gums may start to look swollen and turn reddish in color prior to gum bleeding,” said Alice G. Boghosian, DDS, consumer adviser and spokesperson for the American Dental Association. She practices at Hagopian & Boghosian Dentistry in Glenview, Illinois.
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“If you notice blood in the sink when you brush your teeth, and you experience it for more than two weeks, you should consult your dentist, as it’s possible you may be at risk for gum disease.”
Fox News Digital interviewed dental experts about how to stay healthy, protect your pearly whites and your gums — read on.
What causes bleeding gums?
There are many potential reasons for bleeding gums, medical experts say.
If your gums bleed after you brush your teeth, you should discuss this with your dental professional, experts advise. (iStock)
“In some cases, bleeding gums can be a sign of gingivitis, the early stage of gum disease,” said Sally J. Cram, DDS, consumer adviser and spokesperson for the American Dental Association. She is a periodontist with a practice in Washington, D.C.
“Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, is an infection of the gums and bone that surround your teeth, and is caused by a buildup of plaque.”
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In addition to gums that bleed easily, symptoms of gum disease in its early stages may include red, swollen and tender gums as well as bad breath, she said.
Many women develop bleeding and swollen gums during puberty, pregnancy, menopause and during their monthly menstrual cycle.
Additionally, Dr. Cram said many women develop bleeding and swollen gums during puberty, pregnancy, menopause and during their monthly menstrual cycle.
“This is due to increased hormone levels, which make the gums more sensitive to plaque and bacteria,” she said.
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Another potential cause of bleeding gums? It might be a new flossing routine, which may cause gums to bleed at first as they get used to the cleaning between the teeth, said Dr. Cram.
“This goes away on its own within about a week,” she said.
In addition to bleeding gums, if you have symptoms like bad breath or swollen, tender gums, and have experienced symptoms for longer than two weeks, it’s best to visit your dentist or periodontist. (iStock)
Lastly, brushing too hard or incorrectly may cause bleeding gums.
“It’s always wise to ask your dentist and dental hygienist to suggest the right toothbrush for you and to review how to use it correctly,” Dr. Cram suggested.
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Many causes are temporary, like implementing a new flossing routine, or can easily be adjusted, like brushing too hard or using the wrong toothbrush.
Yet if you have additional symptoms like bad breath or swollen, tender gums, and you have experienced symptoms for longer than two weeks, you should visit your dentist or periodontist, Dr. Cram advised.
What are other factors that can put patients at risk?
Dr. Boghosian with Hagopian & Boghosian said these issues may also raise the risk of gum disease:
- Poor dental care
- Smoking or chewing tobacco
- Genetics
- Crooked teeth that are hard to keep clean
- Pregnancy
- Diabetes
- The use of certain medications, including steroids, some anti-epilepsy drugs, cancer therapy drugs, some calcium channel blockers, and oral contraceptives
Why should bleeding gums be brought up to a dentist?
It’s possible that bleeding gums can be a symptom of gum disease, an infection of the tissues that surround and support your teeth.
“Bacteria in the mouth and gum disease have been implicated in higher risks of oral cancer — and although it is not very common, persistent red, bleeding gums can also be a sign of certain blood disorders such as leukemia.” (iStock)
“Gum disease, or periodontal disease, is a major cause of tooth loss in adults,” periodontist Dr. Cram said.
Additional warning signs of gum disease, she said, include red, tender gums; gums that have begun to pull away from the teeth; persistent bad breath; permanent teeth that are loose or separating; any changes in the way your teeth fit together when you bite; or any changes in the fit of partial dentures.
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“If these symptoms persist for two weeks, you should visit your dentist or periodontist,” Dr. Cram cautioned.
When can bleeding gums signify a more severe medical issue?
Research between systemic diseases and periodontal diseases is ongoing, said Dr. Cram.
“While a link is not conclusive, some studies indicate that severe gum disease may be associated with several other health conditions such as diabetes or stroke,” she indicated.
“Bacteria in the mouth and gum disease have also been implicated in higher risks of oral cancer, and although it is not very common, persistent red, bleeding gums can also be a sign of certain blood disorders such as leukemia.”
Regular dental checkups and periodontal exams are advised.
“It’s important to brush your teeth twice a day, clean between your teeth daily, eat a balanced diet, schedule regular dental visits and avoid smoking or chewing tobacco.” (iStock)
What will a dentist do to evaluate?
Treatment of periodontitis can be non-surgical or surgical.
Treatment methods depend upon the type of disease and how far the condition has progressed, Boghosian at Hagopian & Boghosian said.
What can people do at home?
Good dental care at home is essential to help keep periodontal disease from becoming more serious or recurring.
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“To help prevent periodontal disease, it’s important to brush your teeth twice a day, clean between your teeth daily, eat a balanced diet, schedule regular dental visits and avoid smoking or chewing tobacco,” Boghosian recommended.
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One woman’s uncomfortable reaction to alcohol led to a grave discovery.
Hollie Thursby, 28, a mother of two from the U.K., told Kennedy News and Media that after giving birth to her second son, Jack, she began experiencing unusual symptoms.
At a checkup for her son, who was a couple of months old, Thursby mentioned that she was experiencing “unbearably itchy skin,” which is known to be a post-partum symptom. The doctor suggested it was due to changing hormones.
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Thursby added that she occasionally drank a couple glasses of wine. Although she kept the drinking to a minimum, she described having “a lot of pain” down the side of her neck.
“Really quite painful and uncomfortable,” she said, according to the report.
A U.K. mom reported experiencing pain in her neck after drinking a glass or two of wine, which turned out to be one of the first signs that she had cancer. (Kennedy News and Media)
The mother also reported feeling extremely exhausted, which she assumed was due to caring for her children throughout the day.
“I also felt like when I got to bed that someone was sitting on my chest,” she shared.
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In July 2025, Thursby discovered a lump on the side of her neck that she described as “really quite big,” but wasn’t painful, Kennedy News and Media reported.
“It was hard, it didn’t move, but it was there,” she said. “When I turned my neck to the side, you could see it.”
Thursby reportedly began chemotherapy for Stage 2 Hodgkins lymphoma. (Kennedy News and Media)
Thursby’s symptoms turned out to be a form of blood cancer — Stage 2 Hodgkins lymphoma, which means it is in two or more lymph nodes, according to Cancer Research U.K.
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Common symptoms include swelling of the lymph nodes, heavy sweating, weight loss, itching, persistent cough or shortness of breath, high temperatures, and pain in the stomach or lymph nodes after drinking alcohol.
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“Pain when you drink alcohol is actually a known side effect of Hodgkin lymphoma,” she said, per the report. “It’s something about the acidity in the wine and not when you drink other alcohol.”
While alcohol-related pain in Hodgkins lymphoma patients has been “an accepted scientific consensus” since the 1950s, cases are rare, Healthline confirmed.
Hollie Thursby, 28, and her two sons are pictured above. The mother reported feeling extremely exhausted, which she assumed was due to caring for her children throughout the day. (Kennedy News and Media)
Thursby reportedly began chemotherapy in November, noting that the hardest part is not being able to care for her kids after losing her own mother to a blood disorder called myelodysplasia.
“I grew up without a mum, and it was horrendous. I can’t do that to the boys,” she told Kennedy News and Media. “We’re all devastated, but we all know now, and we’ve got a treatment plan, which is what we need.”
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“I’m just doing everything I can to get better for them. I keep telling myself this is only temporary, I just need to keep going.”
Anyone experiencing pain or other concerning symptoms after consuming alcohol should consult a doctor for guidance.
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Red light therapy has been shown to reduce brain inflammation, protecting people who experience head trauma from long-term health consequences, a University of Utah study has shown.
Brain damage from repeated impact over the years is known to cause cognitive symptoms, ranging from memory issues to full-blown dementia, particularly affecting soldiers and athletes.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive, degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts rather than a single injury, according to Mayo Clinic.
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More than 100 former NFL football players have been posthumously diagnosed with CTE, according to the new study, which was published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.
Other research has shown that military personnel in active combat suffer from similar issues, as do first responders and veterans.
The treatment was administered three times a week for 20 minutes using specialized headsets and intranasal devices designed to penetrate the skull. (iStock)
In the new study, the researchers recruited 26 current football players to understand more about the impact of red-light therapy on brain injuries.
The participants received either red light therapy delivered by a light-emitting headset and a device that clips into the nose, or a placebo treatment with an identical device that doesn’t produce light. Players self-administered the therapy three times a week, 20 minutes each time, for 16 weeks.
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“My first reaction was, ‘There’s no way this can be real,’” said first author Hannah Lindsey, Ph.D., in the university press release. “That’s how striking it was.”
Specific wavelengths of light are believed to enter the brain and reduce molecules that trigger inflammation, potentially halting the path toward dementia and other cognitive conditions. (iStock)
Players using the placebo treatment experienced increased brain inflammation over the course of the season. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans taken at the end of the season showed significantly more signs of inflammation than at the beginning of the season, the study found.
For players who used red-light therapy during the season, their brain inflammation didn’t increase at all.
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Previous studies have shown that red light, if powerful enough, can penetrate the skull and reach the brain, where it may reduce inflammation-related molecules.
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“When we first started this project, I was extremely skeptical,” said Elisabeth Wilde, Ph.D., the senior author on the study. “But we’ve seen consistent results across multiple of our studies, so it’s starting to be quite compelling.”
Study limitations
The study was conducted using a small sample size, which led to different levels of inflammation in the treatment and control groups, the researchers acknowledged.
While the placebo group showed increased brain inflammation during the football season, those receiving red light therapy showed no increase in inflammatory markers. (iStock)
Future large randomized clinical trials will be “crucial to back up the results” in larger populations, they noted.
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“We’ve been trying to figure out how to make sports safer, so that our kids, friends and family can participate in sports safely for the long term while they’re involved in activities that give them happiness and joy,” Carrie Esopenko, Ph.D., second author of the study, said in the release.
“And this really feels like part of the hope for protecting the brain that we’ve been searching for.”
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The team plans to recruit 300 people with persistent symptoms from TBI or concussion for a randomized controlled trial in 2026, with a focus on first responders, veterans and active-duty service members.
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Drinking heavily and consistently over an adult’s lifetime could lead to a higher risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study published in the journal Cancer by the American Cancer Society (ACS).
The study analyzed 20 years of data from more than 88,000 U.S. adults to determine how long-term drinking impacted the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) or precancerous colorectal adenomas (polyps).
The participants reported their average weekly intake of beer, wine and liquor intake during four age periods — 18 to 24, 25 to 39, 40 to 54, and 55 and older.
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“Heavy drinkers” were identified as having more than 14 drinks per week and “moderate drinkers” had between seven and 14 drinks per week.
The observational research revealed that consistent heavy drinking over adulthood was linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer, especially rectal cancer.
Researchers found a major association between colorectal cancer diagnosis and heavy lifetime drinking. (iStock)
Heavy lifetime drinking was associated with a 25% higher overall CRC risk and nearly double the risk of rectal cancer. Moderate lifetime drinking had a lower overall CRC risk.
Compared to light drinkers, the consistently heavy drinkers had about a 91% higher risk of CRC.
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For colorectal adenomas (precancerous polyps), higher current lifetime drinking did not show a strong pattern, although former drinkers showed a significantly lower risk of non-advanced adenoma compared to current light drinkers.
Out of the 88,092 participants, 1,679 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
Out of the 88,092 participants in the study, 1,679 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. (iStock)
The authors noted that the research was limited, as it was observational and not based on a clinical trial. It also hinged on self-reported alcohol use.
The findings suggest that consistently heavy alcohol intake and higher average lifetime consumption “may increase CRC risk, whereas cessation may lower adenoma risk,” the researchers stated. Associations “may differ by tumor site,” they added.
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The link between drinking alcohol and cancer is not a new discovery, according to health experts.
In a recent episode of the podcast “The Dr. Mark Hyman Show,” Dr. Mark Hyman, chief medical officer of Function Health in California, detailed how even moderate drinking can impact “nearly every organ system in the body,” due to metabolic stress, inflammation, impaired detoxification and its effect on hormones.
The link between drinking alcohol and cancer is not a new discovery, according to health experts. (iStock)
Drinking has been found to increase the risk of many cancers, metabolic dysfunction, gut microbiome disturbances and mitochondrial toxins, Hyman said.
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“Bottom line, alcohol taxes every major system in your body, especially your liver, your brain, your gut, your hormones,” he warned.
Reducing or eliminating alcohol can lower the risk of several cancers, according to medical experts. (Getty Images)
In a previous interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Pinchieh Chiang, a clinician at Circle Medical in San Francisco, shared that taking a break from drinking alcohol for longer periods of time can “reshape health more profoundly.”
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“Over months to a year, we see sustained improvements in blood pressure, liver function and inflammation,” she said. “Those changes directly affect long-term heart disease and stroke risk.”
Chiang added, “Reducing or eliminating alcohol lowers the risk of several cancers, including breast and colorectal, over time.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the study researchers for comment.
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