Well, whenever I brush properly and for a long enough amount of time,
my gums stop bleeding.  Of course, what I mean is that they stop
bleeding *when* I brush and floss them, as they don't just bleed for no
reason...that would be really bad.  Anyway, I have bridgework because I
had a peg tooth and the orthodontist basically arranged (over time) my
teeth (the two beside my two front teeth, don't know the number) for
bridgework.  I actually don't have a problem at all with cavities,
although I do have 3 fillings from early childhood.  I've been checked
every 6 months since childhood, and I'm now 24, although I have let the
time run too far since my last checkup.  The dentist usually does get
onto for not flossing well enough, although I have done well a couple
of times over the years.

And my diet... my diet is not as good as it was about 2 years ago, but
for about a  year or two I had  *SPECTACULAR* diet, almost to the point
of being sort of silly/extreme.  I ate a lot of wild alaskan salmon, a
lot of fruit (that could be the bad guy I guess), and drank a lot of
water, but I've never been big on soft drinks.  However, my gums were
pretty much the same during this time.  Really, it's genetics I think.
Also, even though I eat relatively well, I tend to eat a *lot* of food,
especially for someone as skinny as I am.  So, my mouth sees probably
at least a quarter more food per day than the average mouth does, on
average.  Anyway, I just need to floss better and brush better and
within a few weeks the bleeding always stops, but it's keeping up with
it that's the hard part sometimes.