Brief overview
- Treatment: Careful oral hygiene, cleaning by a dentist if necessary
- Causes and risk factors: Usually lack of oral hygiene, sometimes mechanical irritation/injury in the mouth, hormonal changes, metabolic disorders, etc.
- Symptoms: Swelling, bleeding, bad breath
- Diagnosis: The dentist usually only needs to make a visual diagnosis; probe and X-ray examinations are also possible
- Course of the disease and prognosis: Inflammation of the gums usually heals within a few days. If left untreated, there is a risk of periodontitis and tooth loss.
- Prevention:Oral hygiene, regular check-ups at the dentist
What is gingivitis?
Gum inflammation (gingivitis) is an acute or chronic inflammation of the gums that occurs in both adults and (young) children without involving the bone tissue. Gum inflammation occurs, for example, around a molar tooth or a so-called wisdom tooth.
How is gingivitis treated?
The most important remedy for gingivitis is daily oral hygiene. Bacterial plaque in particular should be removed regularly. If gingivitis lasts a long time, it is advisable to see a dentist for treatment. The dentist will first clean all tooth surfaces and remove stubborn plaque that is inaccessible to the patient.
If the gums are severely inflamed (severe gingivitis) or gum pockets have formed, the doctor will decide on the appropriate treatment for gingivitis on a case-by-case basis and prescribe appropriate medication.
It is usually sufficient to brush your teeth thoroughly twice a day. This can prevent or heal inflammation of the gums. It is important that you clean all tooth surfaces thoroughly and remove plaque. To do this, use a toothbrush with softer bristles. This reduces the risk of injuring or further irritating the inflamed gums when brushing your teeth.
Experts recommend using dental floss or interdental brushes to clean the spaces between your teeth. Finally, you can gargle with an antibacterial mouthwash or apply a special ointment against gum inflammation. Both curb the growth of bacteria. Prescriptions prescribed by the dentist based on hydrogen peroxide also help.
What home remedies help with gingivitis?
Some people use home remedies for gingivitis to alleviate the symptoms and help the inflammation to subside more quickly. For example, some patients gargle with chamomile tea. The plant is said to have an anti-inflammatory and mucous membrane-protecting effect.
The home remedy tea tree oil can also be used as a rinse to help treat inflammation in the mouth. Among other things, it is said to have an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect.
Apple cider vinegar as a home remedy: Apple cider vinegar is also said to be a good home remedy for gum inflammation. It is recommended to gargle with a mixture of two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a glass of water at least half an hour before brushing your teeth every day. This is said to stimulate saliva production and have an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect.
Home remedies have their limits. If the symptoms persist over a longer period of time and do not improve or even get worse, you should always consult a doctor.
Homeopathy
Some people who are prone to recurring gingivitis use homeopathy to support the healing of gum inflammation. Silicea, Argentum nitricum or Atropa belladonna, for example, are used.
The concept of homeopathy and its specific effectiveness are controversial in the scientific community and have not been clearly proven by studies.
What are the possible causes of gingivitis?
If you do not clean your teeth thoroughly on a regular basis, gum inflammation can quickly develop. However, an injury to the gums can also cause inflammation.
However, if food debris is not regularly removed from the teeth, this is literally a feast for the bacteria – they multiply rapidly. Together with food residues, metabolic products and saliva, the germs form a soft biofilm on the teeth, which is called bacterial plaque. In this plaque, the bacteria are largely protected from the immune system’s defense troops.
But that’s not all: the bacteria produce aggressive acids and toxins when metabolizing food residues. These penetrate the fine crevices between the tooth and gum and attack the gums. The immune system reacts to this with an inflammatory reaction – gum inflammation has developed.
Tartar has a rough surface to which plaque easily adheres. As plaque promotes gum inflammation, attempts are made to inhibit the formation of tartar by using additives in toothpastes.
If plaque is not brushed off regularly, calcium and other minerals are deposited in it. The plaque becomes firmer and develops into tartar. Bacteria settle even more easily in its rough structure. In addition, small gum pockets filled with pus (periodontitis) may form as a result of gum inflammation.
Various risk factors make people particularly susceptible to gingivitis, such as metabolic disorders, diabetes mellitus, alcohol and nicotine consumption, stress, hormonal changes (puberty, pregnancy, etc.) or a vitamin C deficiency.
Certain medications for seizures (hydantoin preparations) and high blood pressure (nifedipine preparations) also promote gingivitis. The same applies to the active ingredient cyclosporin A. It inhibits the immune system and is therefore used after organ transplants (to prevent rejection reactions) and autoimmune diseases.
What does gingivitis look like?
Dentists distinguish between acute and chronic gingivitis. The former usually occurs suddenly and at the gum line. It does not normally hurt.
If the gum inflammation does not go away over a longer period of time (about a week), doctors refer to it as chronic. If it spreads to the periodontium and causes periodontitis, the affected person’s teeth may even fall out in severe cases.
- Redness and swelling
- Bleeding gums
- Soft gums
- Bad breath
If the gum inflammation is caused by fungi (Candida albicans), a white, wipeable coating appears on the gums. If a herpes virus infection is responsible for the gum inflammation, small blisters appear on the gums, which are very painful, and lymph nodes swell, among other things.
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG) is a special form of gingivitis. In this form, the bacteria attack the gums between the teeth and lead to inflammation of the gums. Ulcers form and the gums die. Alarm signals of this type of gingivitis are sudden severe fever, pain, bad breath and fatigue. In the case of necrotizing gingivitis, the dentist may use antibiotics such as metronidazole or amoxicillin.
Examination and diagnosis
The dentist can usually recognize gum inflammation with the naked eye. They use a probe to test the condition of the gums and check whether gum pockets have formed. Bacteria particularly like to settle in these.
If the gum inflammation has been present for some time, an additional X-ray examination of the jaw is often useful. This procedure helps in the search for the cause and possible consequences. By examining the saliva, the doctor also has the opportunity to determine the types of bacteria in the oral cavity.
How long does gingivitis last?
The prognosis for gum inflammation is generally good. With careful dental care and oral hygiene, it usually heals after a few days.
If left untreated, however, gingivitis can become chronic. Sometimes it even develops into periodontitis, which is an inflammation of the entire periodontium. Over time, the gums recede, the teeth become loose and may fall out.
Prevention
To prevent gum inflammation from occurring in the first place, it is important to maintain thorough oral hygiene and visit the dentist for regular check-ups. In this way, gingivitis can be prevented or detected and treated at an early stage.
As a preventative measure, it is also advisable to have your teeth professionally cleaned by a dentist at least once a year. This is because it also reaches places in the mouth that you cannot reach with a toothbrush.
