Learning More About Gingivitis
What are the cardinal signs of gingivitis?
The cardinal signs of gingivitis in a patient usually include bleeding gums when brushing and flossing at home. These are the first red flags indicating inflammation in your gums, which is ultimately what gingivitis is. It's inflammation of your gum tissue, and inflammation in the mouth is demonstrated by bleeding, redness, coloration, heavy plaque accumulation, and sometimes swelling and puffy tender areas.
These are all things we can easily diagnose even without x-rays. We can see it during our exam and determine if you have gingivitis.
What are common causes of gingivitis?
Common causes of gingivitis are often due to inadequate or subpar oral hygiene at home. Sometimes it can be related to new medications or an oral systemic health connection for medical reasons. However, most of the time, we see it in younger to lower middle-aged patients who are still learning and practicing how to take care of their teeth at home.
The good news about gingivitis is that it's totally reversible. It hasn't caused any irreversible damage to the gums or bone around your teeth. Once we perform a cleaning appropriate for that type of gum presentation, it's usually healed overnight. We provide you with recommendations for products and techniques to help prevent it, allowing you to return to your normal cleanings afterward.
Why should gingivitis be treated early?
The reason we recommend intervening with gingivitis sooner rather than later is that gingivitis is the stepping stone to gum disease. Gum disease is much harder to treat and causes irreversible damage to the gums, bone, and ligaments around your teeth. Once the foundation of your mouth becomes compromised, rebuilding it is not an option.
Curing gingivitis and reversing it allows us to prevent potential irreversible damage from gum disease. This helps us avoid the gum disease category, keeping you on track and preventing tooth loss and the need for replacements due to gum disease.
What is scaling in the presence?
If you come to a new patient exam or haven't had a cleaning with us for a while, we might recommend a procedure called scaling in the presence, formally known as scaling in the presence of gingival inflammation. This type of cleaning is between a regular prophylaxis hygiene cleaning and the deep cleaning recommended for patients with gum disease.
This intermediate cleaning, known as scaling in the presence, allows us to perform a more in-depth cleaning and scraping underneath the gums where hard calculus tartar buildup has grown. We usually irrigate with oral medical rinses to control bacteria.
Depending on the patient, we might recommend returning in six weeks to ensure everything healed well and to check gum measurements that may have improved. This in-depth cleaning helps clear up inflammation and get you back on track.
Your dental health matters to us, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. If you’re looking for expert dental care near Kiln Creek, VA, call (757) 996-4655 or email [email protected] to learn more. Ready to get started? Schedule your appointment below.