Symptoms of gingivitis

The first and most important sign of gingivitis is the appearance of bleeding around the gums. Pain when brushing the teeth is also not uncommon. The typical symptoms of gingivitis also include severe redness and/or dark discoloration of the gumline. Furthermore, inflamed gums usually appear swollen and thickened (edema and swelling). In severe cases, the affected gums can become ulcerated.

Gingivitis therapy

Therapeutically, all forms of gingivitis try to clean the gums thoroughly. Intensive cleaning can be sufficient to alleviate the symptoms, provided that a mild form of gingivitis is present. In severe forms it may be necessary to have the gums professionally cleaned by a periodontist, including cleaning the pockets between the teeth.

In support of this, the affected person should use a mouth rinse solution containing the active ingredient chlorhexidine digluconate twice a day for two weeks, as this has been proven to minimize the bacteria in the oral cavity. At the beginning of the therapy, the dentist or periodontist will perform a so-called professional tooth cleaning (PZR). In the course of this, each individual tooth is cleaned from all sides with special instruments (curettage).

Due to their individual grinding the curettes are able to remove soft (plaque) as well as hard (tartar) plaque from the tooth surface. Alternatively, teeth can also be cleaned by using a “sandblaster”. From a professional point of view, this method is more than questionable, as the small particles of the blaster roughen the tooth surface and thus create new dirt niches.

The costs of such a precaution are usually only covered proportionally by the statutory health insurance companies. Therefore, the patient has to pay at least a part of the costs himself. The price of a professional tooth cleaning varies greatly from practice to practice (on average the costs are between 70 and 150 Euros).

Considering the fact that an untreated gingivitis can even lead to the loss of otherwise perfectly healthy teeth over a longer period of time, these costs are justified. However, the dental procedure of professional tooth cleaning is not sufficient to stop gingivitis in the long term. Above all, the cooperation of the affected patient is essential for the success of the treatment.

Regular check-up appointments, if necessary the repeated performance of a professional tooth cleaning and above all an adequately performed oral hygiene is indispensable for the treatment. In case of gingivitis herpetica or ANUG, bed rest may also be appropriate, since the body is very weakened by the pathogens and needs to regenerate. The dentist will also prescribe antibiotics for bacterial forms of gingivitis and antivirals for viral forms of gingivitis to help the body quickly rid itself of the infection.

In the case of accompanying symptoms such as fever, fever-reducing medications are also conceivable, which reduce the accompanying symptoms of gingivitis. Depending on the severity and form of gingivitis, other medications are used.

In bacterial forms of gingivitis, apart from thorough cleansing, antibiotics are the most effective drugs that kill the bacteria quickly.
In viral gingivitis herpetica, antivirals such as Aciclovir help to render the viruses harmless and accelerate the regeneration of the affected person.
To alleviate the accompanying symptoms of gingivitis, antipyretic drugs and painkillers are used.
These include, for example, paracetamol, which, in addition to its pain-relieving effect, also has a fever-reducing effect.

In cases of gingivitis of any kind, globules can also help to overcome inflammation more quickly and regenerate the gums. At the same time, homeopathy also helps to rehabilitate the body’s weakened immune system and accelerate healing. For gingivitis, the remedy of choice is Mercurius solubilis in globule form.

Mercurius solubilis in potency D12 specifically helps to calm bloody and swollen gums. The usual dosage is five globules three times a day.In case of uncertainties and questions regarding the globules, the dentist should be consulted. Especially in mild forms of gingivitis simplex or marginalis, home remedies can help to calm irritated and injured gums and accelerate healing.

If there is no significant improvement in symptoms after about a week, a visit to the dentist is strongly recommended.

Soothing ointments for the oral mucosa or rinses with alum or aloe vera can soothe the gums and relieve pain symptoms. Irrigation should be used three times a day, while ointments or pastes should be applied twice a day specifically to local inflammation sites.
Herbs such as chamomile, sage and cloves can also be used in rinsing solutions to counteract gingivitis.
Ginger is also used as a rinsing solution as a household remedy against gum inflammation.
Due to its sharpness, however, care must be taken not to irritate the gums even more.
In general, targeted cooling can help to relieve symptoms for a short time and reduce pain.
However, the most important thing is thorough oral hygiene to remove the bacterial plaque that causes gingivitis simplex or marginalis and to clean the gums, because if the bacteria remain in the mouth, the gingivitis will persist.
Other forms of gingivitis, caused by viruses or hormones, cannot be treated with home remedies and cannot achieve regeneration of the gums

However, in special cases and/or if the inflammatory processes penetrate into other structures of the periodontium (for example the jawbone), it is recommended to consult a specialist in periodontology (periodontist). At the beginning, a comprehensive screening is carried out (tooth status and status of the periodontium). This means that both the condition of the tooth substance as well as the condition of the gums are assessed precisely.

In the course of this the depth of possible gum pockets is also measured. This measurement is carried out either, representative for the individual teeth, per jaw quadrant (Periodontal screening index; short: PSI) or much more extensive at six points around each tooth. To determine the depth of the gingival pockets, the dentist inserts a narrow, scaled probe between the tooth substance and the gums.

The determination of the extent of the gum pockets is usually absolutely painless and completely harmless for the function of the periodontium. Furthermore, a microbial test can be carried out during the preliminary examinations to determine the exact germ count. In severe cases, it is also recommended to take an x-ray (OPG) which shows the teeth in the jaw together with the jawbone.

This x-ray can be used to assess the condition of the skeleton and to estimate the extent to which the inflammatory processes have already spread. The actual gingivitis therapy begins with a general prophylaxis session. In the course of this, the patient is shown with special staining tablets where oral hygiene must be optimized. This is followed by instructions on a suitable tooth brushing technique, which is adapted to the special conditions within the oral cavity of the individual patient (for more information see Gingivitis prophylaxis).