Swollen gums are the result of a bacterial infection that is caused by poor dental hygiene. Teeth that aren't properly cleaned on a regular basis will develop plaque and tartar. This buildup causes your gums to swell and bleed when they are irritated either by a toothbrush, floss or food. When wearing braces it is a lot harder to keep teeth clean. Food can easily become stuck in between your braces and cause your gums to swell up. The swelling usually lasts for a few days and can be painful to deal with. Luckily, there are few things you can do to reduce the swelling.

Rinse Your Mouth with Salt Water

Since the swelling in your mouth is due to the buildup of bacteria, a salt water rinse will help to get rid of this bacteria. Once the bacteria have been reduced and removed, you will notice a difference in the way your gums feel. Make sure that you hold the salt water rinse in your mouth for a few minutes. Initially, you will feel a stinging sensation, but this will go away after a few seconds. Once you are done, you can spit out the mixture and rinse your mouth with warm water.

Drink Chamomile Tea

Chamomile is used as a calming agent in order to offer relief to open wounds and body aches. As a result, it works well in alleviating the pain caused by swollen gums. You can either soak a chamomile tea bag in hot water or create your own tea from scratch with fresh chamomile. Regardless of the method you use, it is important to allow the chamomile soak for a few minutes. This will help to extract all of the healing properties of the herb.

Continue to Floss and Brush Your Teeth

While your gums are sore, you may feel like cutting back on your oral hygiene. However, during his period of time it is important to up your hygiene. The main reason why your gums are swollen is because of poor dental hygiene. As a result, brushing or flossing will not hurt your gums; instead, it will help to make the swelling go down faster. Make sure to use a soft-bristled brush to clean your teeth.

Dealing with swollen gums can be extremely painful. It usually takes a few days for the pain to subside and the swelling to go down. In the meantime, use these tips in order to reduce some of the swelling.