Have you ever noticed if there is tiny blood leaking from bottom of your teeth when you hardly bite something? If you do, then you probably get gingivitis. Gingivitis is the most common gum disease, which is a non-specific inflammation of gingival soft tissue caused by plaque on the surface of teeth. It is mainly located in the free gingiva and gingival papilla. In severe cases, it affects the attached gingiva, but does not affect other deep tissues around the teeth. Brushing teeth or biting hard things may cause gingival bleeding, usually coming with local swelling of the gingival papilla and gingival margin.

In this article, the reasons cause gingivitis with its detailed symptoms and related treatment methods will be showing to suggest for you if you get gingivitis.

What cause gingivitis?

The direct cause of gingivitis is the inappropriate accumulation of plaque on tooth surface near the gingival margin. The newly cleaned tooth surface will form a thin film of saliva within a few minutes. Meanwhile bacteria in the oral cavity begin to adhere, accumulate, and multiply on this film, gradually maturing to form dental plaque. The plaque cannot be washed away or rinsed off by water, but will be mineralized and turn into tartar. The surface of tartar will adsorb massive bacteria and its removal will be more difficult. The tartar itself will also stimulate the surrounding gums. The longer plaque and tartar stay on the tooth surface, the severer the stimulation on the gums, which leads to inflammation of the surrounding gum tissue.

Local triggering factors could be misaligned and crowded teeth, improper brushing methods, food impaction, poor restorations, mouth breathing, etc.

Systemic triggering factors could be smoking, high blood sugar, nutritional factors, blood diseases, drugs, abnormal hormones, etc.

What are typical symptoms of gingivitis?

Normal gums present in pink, but free gums and gingival papilla show bright red or dark red with the bright surface of the gums when gingivitis begins. Patients often experience teeth bleeding while brushing their teeth and biting hard food. The edge of the gums thickens and no longer adheres closely to the tooth surface, and the gingival papilla becomes blunt and enlarged, covering the tooth surface. Local itching, swelling, pain and bad breath do occasionally appear when suffering from gingivitis. Few patients could have severe inflammation and may experience gingival erosion or granulation hyperplasia.

Healthy gums do not cause bleeding when brushing or probing the gingival sulcus. Doctors use a periodontal probe to gently probe the gums, causing bleeding refers to typical gingivitis appearing. Postoperative bleeding is an important basis for diagnosing gingivitis.

How to deal with gingivitis?

It is apparent that you cannot just leave it there when you unfortunately get gingivitis even though it is a common gum disease. When suffering from gingivitis, it generally does not involve deep tissues. But if you left it untreated and the periodontal tissue continues to damage deep tissues, it forms periodontitis. The symptoms of gingivitis mentioned above would cause pain and discomfort during eating and talking in daily life and bring inconvenience.

Due to the lack of deep periodontal tissue damage in gingivitis, dental scaling, which is commonly known as “toothwashing”, could completely remove plaque and tartar, eliminate factors that cause plaque retention and local irritation of the gums. After rinsing the area with 1% to 3% hydrogen peroxide, and the inflammation would all subside. For those with clear promoting factors, in addition to teeth cleaning, factors that cause plaque retention and local gum irritation should be eliminated, and systemic factors should be actively controlled. Generally, it takes a week to recover to a healthy gum state.

Since significant individual differences exist, there is no absolute best, fastest, or most effective medication. In addition to commonly used over-the-counter drugs, the most suitable medication should be selected under the guidance of a doctor, taking into account personal circumstances.

If gingivitis is severe, local medication can be used to treat it. 1% to 3% hydrogen peroxide solution is commonly used to rinse the gingival sulcus, iodine preparations are used for medication in the gingival sulcus, and if necessary, antibacterial mouthwash can be used, such as 0.12% to 0.2% chlorhexidine. When pregnant women have severe inflammation, try to use mouthwash that is less stimulating and does not affect fetal growth and development. For patients with gingivitis without systemic diseases, it is commonly not recommended to use antibiotics throughout the body.

Gingivitis is a reversible disease, and through active treatment, the color, shape, texture, and function of the gums can be fully restored to a healthy state, with a good prognosis. But what do you need to pay attention is that if the patient cannot effectively control plaque and undergo regular follow-up maintenance after treatment, it may lead to the accumulation of plaque again and gingivitis recurring will happen under a high rate; When patients with gingivitis fail to receive timely treatment or maintain poor oral hygiene after treatment, gingivitis can recur and ultimately affect the deep periodontal tissue, leading to the occurrence of periodontitis. So please go to the dentist as soon as you can when you find out that your gingivitis gets worse.

How to do daily care of gingivitis?

Gingivitis will affect the daily work, life, and socialization of patients. In addition to regular dental cleaning at the hospital, the patient’s daily self-care of oral hygiene plays an important role in the prevention of gingivitis.

The most important thing is to master the correct brushing method, persist in brushing teeth in the morning and evening, and rinse mouth after meals to control the formation of plaque and tartar. It is advisable to choose a soft bristled, small headed toothbrush or an electric toothbrush, and fluoride toothpaste or antibacterial toothpaste can be used. Reasonably use auxiliary tools such as dental floss and interdental brushes, and correctly choose and use mouthwash. Ensure that you brush with one personal cup for every time to avoid cross infection. Brush your teeth in the morning and evening, and rinse your mouth after meals. Brushing teeth for 2-3 minutes each time, pay attention to the order, and brush all sides of the teeth. The brushing method can refer to the horizontal vibration method (Babbitt brushing method) and the rotary brushing method. Regularly clean teeth every six months to one year.

Smoking can easily form pigments and plaque on the tooth surface, and reduce the smoker’s own immune ability. It is recommended to quit smoking.

Increase the intake of fresh vegetables and supplement daily vitamins. Develop a habit of regular daily routines to alleviate psychological stress.

When brushing teeth every day, a good habit is looking in the mirror and observing the color, shape, and texture changes of the gums, as well as any bleeding for prevention. Regular follow-up visits, doctors will evaluate the health status of the gums through clinical examinations.

Lastly, wish your gum being healthy and away from gingivitis!