Many have heard of gingivitis, but what is it and what does it do to your teeth? Gingivitis actually has more to do with the gums of the mouth rather than the teeth. However, the gums are just as important for good oral health as the teeth. Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gums that happens as the first stage of gum disease. The cause of gingivitis can be traced back to plaque, that sticky acidic substance that erodes your tooth enamel. Plaque also attacks the gums and can cause them to become red, inflamed and even recede. Nobody wants that! Learn what gingivitis does to your teeth and how to avoid gingivitis from ever happening.

What Is Gingivitis?

Gingivitis is a common oral health issue. Studies estimate that there are over 200,000 cases of gingivitis each year. Many patients don’t know they even have gingivitis as they don’t know that their gums can develop problems as easily as their teeth. Why do dentists suggest brushing and flossing the teeth at least twice a day? These two things are something that each patient must do to remove plaque from the teeth. Plaque is made up of the sugars in the foods you eat mixed with bacteria. Plaque is also an acidic substance that erodes the hard tooth enamel over time and irritates the gums.

This initial stage of irritation of the gums is gingivitis. Gingivitis is the first stage of gum disease and is also the easiest to treat. You will know if you have gingivitis if your gums appear more red than usual. They will also be more swollen and appear irritated and will bleed easily, especially when flossing. Another sign of gingivitis is bad breath or a bad taste in the mouth. If you experience any of these signs or symptoms, come to our office for evaluation.

What Does Gingivitis Lead To?

We mentioned that gingivitis is the first stage of gum disease. This disease is also known as periodontal disease or periodontitis and there are about 3 million cases of it each year. As we mentioned, many patients don’t realize that they have gingivitis, which is how those 200,000 cases of gingivitis turn into 3 million cases of periodontitis each year. A total of 64.7 million American adults have periodontitis. When not treated, your gums will continue to be irritated, red and swollen. Eventually, the gums will start to recede from the teeth and you may even see more of the darker yellow/brown part of the tooth start to show. This is a sign of gum recession.

Gum disease is tricky because it is not painful. If you expect to feel pain, you will be waiting awhile until your case becomes severe. Once too much recession has occurred, the teeth will begin to fall out because the bone structure surrounding the gums have become too weak to hold the teeth. Once one tooth falls out, more teeth can soon follow. That’s why it’s so important to prevent gingivitis and gum disease in the first place and have it treated as soon as you become aware there is a problem with your gums.

Preventative Care

Some of our most popular services fall into our diagnostic and preventative care services. These include comprehensive examinations, digital x-rays, oral hygiene care through dental cleanings, oral cancer screenings and more. Each patient should come see us biannually for the prevention of serious oral health problems. With our comprehensive exam, we examine all the hard (teeth) and soft tissues of the mouth (gums). This is to ensure that tooth decay is not present and that the gums are in their proper place. If we notice that the gums are red, swollen or irritated, we will give you proper care items and instructions to reverse the effects of gingivitis.

Gingivitis is common in many patients. However, many don’t know they have it unless they come in for their exam and cleaning. Not only can we spot the signs of gum disease starting, but we can also use digital x-rays to detect cavities before they becomes severe. Our x-rays use a focused beam of x-ray particles that pass through your bones and produce images on special film. With these, we can diagnose problems and disease as we examine your teeth inside and out, as well as the supporting bone and gum tissues. Preventative care both in-office and at home with proper oral hygiene habits are the key to preventing gingivitis and its progression to full-blown gum disease.

Schedule Your Appointment

The American Dental Association recommends that every patient visit the dentist at least twice a year (if not more) for a dental cleaning and comprehensive exam. If it’s been awhile since you’ve had your cleaning, call our Mountain Aire Dentistry office today at (303) 731-7755 to schedule your appointment. You can save your teeth from gingivitis with preventative care today.