Gingivitis: What It Is, Causes, Diagnosis - Cleveland Clinic

How is gingivitis treated? · Perform scaling and root planing: Scaling removes tartar and bacteria from teeth and from underneath your gums. ThinkyoumayhaveCOVID-19? Findoutwhereyoucangettested Needavaccineorbooster? Scheduletoday ComingtoaClevelandCliniclocation? Visitationandmaskrequirements Home / HealthLibrary / Disease&Conditions Gingivitis Gingivitisisamild,earlyformofgumdiseasethatoccurswhenbacteriaandplaquebuildupinthemouthandleadtoinfection.Whilegingivitisdoesn’talwayscausesymptoms,itcanmakethegumsred,swollenandtender.Regularcheckupswithadentistandgoodoralhygieneathomecanclearupgingivitisandpreventworsegumdisease. Appointments216.444.8500 Appointments&Locations Overview SymptomsandCauses DiagnosisandTests ManagementandTreatment Prevention Outlook/Prognosis LivingWith Gingivitis Overview SymptomsandCauses DiagnosisandTests ManagementandTreatment Prevention Outlook/Prognosis LivingWith BackToTop Overview Whatisgingivitis? Gingivitisisamild,earlyformofgumdisease,alsocalledperiodontaldisease.Gingivitishappenswhenbacteriainfectthegums,oftenmakingthemswollen,redandquicktobleed. Youcansuccessfullymanagegingivitis,especiallywiththehelpofadentist.Butleftuntreated,theconditioncanleadtoperiodontitis,amoreseveretypeofgumdisease. Whogetsgumdisease? Gingivitisisverycommon.Almosthalfofalladultsolderthan30havesomekindofgumdisease. Gumdiseaseismorelikelytooccurin: Men,thoughresearchersaren’tsurewhy.Itcouldhavetodowithhormonesorthatmenaremorelikelytogetrelateddiseases.Menalsotendnottogotothedentistasoften. Peoplelivinginpovertyandthosewithlessthanahighschooleducation.Thesefactorsaretiedtoanumberofdiseases. Peoplewhosmoke,sincesmokingweakensthebody’sabilitytofightinfection. SymptomsandCauses Whatcausesgingivitis? Everyonehasbacteriaintheirmouths.Mostbacteriaarenormal,naturalandsafe.Butafewtypesofbacteriacancreateplaque,asticky,almostinvisiblefilmontheteeth. Ifyoudon’tcleanyourteethregularlyandthoroughly,thebacteriaandplaquecancauseaninfectionwhereyourteethmeetyourgums.Thatisgingivitis. Plaqueeventuallyhardensandbecomestartar,whichishardertoremove.Tartarcantrapmorebacteria,worseninggingivitis. Docertainthingsincreasethechancesofdevelopinggingivitis? Youmayfaceahigherriskofdevelopinggingivitisifyou: Arepregnantorexperienceotherhormonalchangestiedtooralhealth. Don’ttakegoodcareofyourteethorhavecrookedteeththatarehardtoclean. Havediabetes. Haveafamilyhistoryofgumdisease. Smokeorchewtobacco. Also,someprescriptionandover-the-countermedicationscanreducetheflowofsaliva(spit).Salivahelpskeepthemouthclean,sothischangemaycontributetogingivitis.Examplesofsuchmedicationsinclude: Drugstotreatepilepsy. Somecancertherapies. Calciumchannelblockersforbloodpressure. Oralcontraceptives. Whatarethesymptomsofgingivitis? Gingivitisoftendoesn’tcauseanysymptoms,soyoumayhaveitandnotknowit.Astheconditionworsensovertime,youmaydevelop: Badbreaththatdoesn’tgoaway,evenafterbrushing. Gumsthatbleedeasily,particularlywhenyoubrushyourteeth. Red,swollengums. Sensitivitytohotorcoldfoods. Tendernessorpainwhenyouchewfood. Whenshouldyoucalladentistaboutyourgums? Ifyouhaveoneormoreofthesymptomsofgingivitis,callyourdentist.Yourdentistmayexamineyouatyournextcheckupormakeaspecialappointment.Itdependsonhowlongyou’vehadsymptomsandhowseveretheyare. DiagnosisandTests Howdoesadentistdiagnosegingivitis? Ifyouhavesymptomsofgingivitis,youshouldseeadentistforacheckup.Yourdentistwillinspectyourmouthfor: Bleeding. Signsofinfectionsuchasrednessandswelling. Looseteeth. Gumsthatarepullingawayfromtheteeth. Ifyourdentistsuspectsgumdisease,X-rayscanshowifithasaffectedthebonesunderneath.Yourdentistmayalsoreferyoutoaperiodontist,agumdiseasespecialist. ManagementandTreatment Howisgingivitistreated? Treatmentforgingivitisaimstocontroltheinfectionandrestorehealthyteethandgums.Yourdentistorperiodontistwillthoroughlycleanyourteethtoremoveharmfulbacteria,plaqueandtartar.Additionaltreatmentsinclude: Performscalingandrootplaning:Scalingremovestartarandbacteriafromteethandfromunderneathyourgums.Planingsmoothsthesurfacesoftherootsoftheteeth.Thisstephelpspreventbacteriafromsticking. Offerdentalrestoration:Yourdentistmayfixorremovecrowns,fillingsorbridgesthatstickoutordon’tfitright.Smoothersurfacesareeasiertokeepclean. Recommendanoralhygieneroutine:Agooddentalcleaningusuallyclearsupgingivitis.Butyouneedtokeepthecleanlinessgoingonceyoureturnhome.You’lllearnhowtoproperlycleanyourteethandgethelpschedulingcheckups. Writeaprescription:Anantimicrobialmouthrinsecanhelpdestroybadbacteria. Prevention CanIpreventgingivitis? Youcanpreventgingivitiswithgoodoralhygiene: Brushthoroughlytwiceaday:oncewhenyouwakeupandoncebeforeyougotobed. Controldiabetesifyouhaveit. Don’tsmokeoruseothertobaccoproducts. Flosseverydaytoremovebacteriabetweentheteeth. Limitfoodanddrinkswithlotsofsugar,includingalcohol. Seeadentistatleastonceayearforcheckups,andmoreoftenifyouhaveanysymptoms. Ifpeopleinyourfamilyhavegumdisease,youmayfaceagreaterriskofdevelopingit.Youmayneedmorecheckupsandcleaningstopreventgumdisease. Outlook/Prognosis Whatistheoutlookforgingivitis? Theearlieryoucatchgumdisease,themoreyoucancontrolit.Gingivitisisreversibleifyouhaveacheckupandcleaning,butitcancomeback.Youmusttakegoodcareofyourteethandgumsbetweenofficevisits. Ifyoudon’ttreatgingivitis,itcanturnintomoreseriousgumdisease.Knownasperiodontitis,thisgumdiseasedamagesthestructuresthatkeepteethanchored. LivingWith Whatisgoodoralhygiene? Goodoralhygieneisthekeytopreventinggingivitis: Brushteethtwiceaday.Hitallthesurfacesofeachtooth,anddon’tforgetyourgums,yourtongueandtheroofofyourmouth. Don’tusetobaccoproducts. Flossbetweentheteethonceaday. Limitfoodanddrinkswithlotsofsugar,includingalcohol. Visitadentistatleastonceayear,andmoreoftenifyouhaveanyproblemswithyourteethorgums. WhatquestionsshouldIaskmydentistaboutgingivitisprevention? Consideraskingyourdentistthefollowingquestions: HowshouldIbrushmyteeth? HowlongshouldIbrushmyteeth? CanyoutellifI’mImissinganyspotswhenIbrush? WillmyinsurancecoverthedentalcleaningandtreatmentIneed? Doyourecommendacertaintoothbrush,toothpaste,mouthrinseorfloss? WhenshouldIcomeinforanotherdentalappointment? AnotefromClevelandClinic Everyone’smouthisfullofbacteria.Goodoralhygienecanstopbacteriafromcausinggingivitis,thefirststageofgumdisease.Ifyoufindandtreatgingivitisearly,youcanavoidpermanentdamagetoyourteethandgums.Seeadentistregularlyforcleaningsandcheckups,notjustwhenyouhaveatoothacheorotherdentalproblem. 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