Inflamed gums may seem innocent and easy to treat. This is true in most cases, unless you have it for a long time and do not treat it. Then, the inflammation can spread towards your jawbone. The space in between the teeth and the gums widens and this allows the inflammation to move further into the depths. Due to the inflammation, the fibers around the teeth brake and the jawbone breaks down. In this stage, the condition is called ‘Periodontitis’. Jawbone that is broken down, cannot be recovered anymore. The more the jawbone breaks down, the looser the teeth will be in the jawbone and this can lead to tooth loss.

The most common cause of inflamed gums is poor oral hygiene. As a result, dental plaque is formed and there are many bacteria in that plaque. The plaque can calcify into tartar due to proteins in saliva. New plaque will be formed on this plaque and this process continues to repeat itself. In this way, the bacteria accumulate and gum disease develops.

However, inflamed gums can also have other causes than just poor oral hygiene. The risk to have inflamed gums is greater if you smoke, if you produce little saliva, due to hormone changes in women, if you have diabetes and take certain medications.

• Painful gums
• Bad breath
• Irritated or sensitive teeth
• Bleeding gums
• Red and/or swollen gums
• Loose gums around teeth and molars

Besides taking care of your own oral hygiene, you are obviously welcome for a teeth cleaning at one of our dental hygienists. Treatments at the dental hygienist in combination with your own dental care will lead to healthy gums and maintain it!

In case of very severely inflamed gums, it is possible that the inflammation must be removed surgically. This involves a flap surgery; the inflamed spaces between the gums and the teeth and molars, where there is plaque and tartar will be treated. The purpose of this is to prevent tooth loss.

The number of treatments that are needed depend on the severity of the inflammation. Usually, there are two to ten treatments required per year (2 in case of a regular cleaning, but within the paro-protocol at least 5 treatments). It depends on the type of the treatment if the dental hygienist uses M or T codes. You can look the costs of these codes up in the heading RATES. Do you have an additional insurance for the dentist? Check with your insurance whether they cover these codes! In some cases they do not (fully) cover the treatments!

We already mentioned how important your own oral care is to prevent gum inflammation. Below, you see tips on how you can do this:

• Brush your teeth twice a day in the correct way
• Clean in between the teeth with a toothpick or small brush
• Visit the dentist twice a year for a general checkup
• Visit the dental hygienist for a teeth cleaning and instructions
• Drink enough water
• Stop smoking
• Reduce stress
• Eat healthy and take rest

Do you suffer from inflamed gums or do you have one of the symptoms we mentioned? Please contact our practice via the contact form below, call us on 020-6279229 or email us on info@tpdewolvenstraat.nl. We are happy to help you or book an appointment for you in our practice!