What is gingivitis?
Gingivitis is basically inflammation of the gums, just the soft tissue, the pink tissue around your teeth. If it's inflamed, we call it gingivitis. "Gingiva" refers to the gums, and "-itis" refers to inflammation.
What is the difference between gingivitis and periodontitis?
The difference between gingivitis and periodontitis is that periodontitis involves inflammation around the tooth. This can involve the gums, the bone, and the periodontal ligament, which is kind of like the shock absorber of your tooth.
When you have gingivitis, the inflammation is contained within the gingiva, or just the gums. When you have periodontitis, the inflammation has gone a little bit beyond that and has affected other tissues and structures, including the bone, periodontal ligament, and gums.
Why does periodontitis need immediate treatment?
With periodontitis, you do need immediate treatment. If periodontitis is not well taken care of, the infection can keep progressing into the supporting structures of your tooth, and you can eventually end up losing the tooth.
What are the first symptoms of gingivitis?
The first symptoms of gingivitis are usually reddish tissue, bleeding, and sometimes a little bit of pain in your gums. You may start to notice that your gums become swollen and red, and they can bleed when touched, brushed, or flossed.
How does gingivitis progress?
Gingivitis is the beginning of periodontal disease. Bacteria can colonize the gums and cause inflammation. Again, if it's not taken care of properly, those bacteria can travel down below the gum tissue and affect the bone and periodontal ligament. That bacterial infection that was, in the beginning, confined to the gums can now affect the structures around your tooth.
You can have gingivitis in some areas of your mouth and periodontitis in other areas. It all depends on your oral hygiene and the progression of the disease. Usually, the beginning of this problem is gingivitis.
How is gingivitis treated?
Gingivitis is usually easily taken care of with a regular dental cleaning. Sometimes we do an intermediate cleaning, which we call a debridement. With professional cleaning, good oral hygiene, and the use of oral rinses to help control bacteria when appropriate, we can usually take care of gingivitis very effectively.
How long does it take for gingivitis to heal?
Gingivitis will usually heal in about two to three weeks after you get your initial cleaning, especially when you maintain good oral hygiene at home.
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