In almost all cases, gingivitis, or gum infection, is caused by poor hygiene of the teeth and gums. Although it is possible to treat gingivitis at home, it is always best to consult a dentist for a professional diagnosis and to receive the most suitable treatment. You can avoid gingivitis by brushing your teeth, flossing, gargling, and irrigating your mouth.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Treat Gingivitis with Doctor Recommended Advice
Step 1. Recognize the symptoms of gingivitis
Gingivitis can progress into its early stages with few visible symptoms. When gingivitis gets worse and becomes periodontitis, the symptoms usually only:
- Bleeding of the gums after brushing the teeth.
- Sore, swollen and red gums.
- Persistent bad breath (halitosis).
- Gum line that recedes.
- Deep spaces between teeth and gums, which cause tooth instability.
Step 2. Understand how plaque causes problems
Food trapped under the gums combines with bacteria to create plaque, a toxic compound that irritates the gums and causes them to bleed.
- This colorless film of sticky material contains food particles, batteries and saliva, and sticks to teeth above and below the gum line, promoting gum disease and tooth decay. Plaque hardens and becomes tartar in just 24 hours. At that point the damage is done - only a dentist can remove the tartar. Every day this contaminated scab grows and inflames the gums.
- For this reason, you need to remove plaque every day to avoid gum disease. Just brushing your teeth with a toothbrush isn't enough to remove plaque.
Step 3. Learn about non-surgical options
Most treatments for gingivitis involve a dentist, although getting the problem under control is just as important. If you have mild gingivitis, consider these non-surgical treatments:
- Professional cleaning. Your dentist may recommend that you have a professional cleaning of your teeth and gums twice a year if you have a tendency to suffer from gingivitis. The dentist who will perform the procedure will remove plaque and tartar below and above the gum line.
- Scaling and leveling of the roots. Like professional cleaning, this method is administered with the use of a local anesthetic. The patient's plaque and tartar are removed and the rough spots are smoothed out. This procedure is done when the dentist determines that plaque and tartar below the gum line needs to be removed.
Step 4. Learn about surgical dental options
Advanced gingivitis or periodontitis may need to be addressed with dental surgery. These interventions include:
- Flap surgery and pocket reduction. This surgery reduces the space between the gums and the teeth by lifting the parts of the gum in contact with the tooth, removing plaque and tartar, and repositioning the gum tightly against the tooth.
- Soft tissue grafts. Tissue, mainly taken from the palate, is grafted onto the gums to reinforce the line that is receding or to fill in the places where the gums are thin.
- Bone grafts. Bone grafts offer old diseased bones a new platform on which to grow back, increasing the stability of the tooth. Bone grafts can be made from your own bones, donated bones, or synthetic bones. Bone surgery involves smoothing holes and depressions in existing bones, usually after flap surgery. Bone surgery makes it harder for bacteria to adhere to the bone, preventing future problems.
- Tissue regeneration. If the bone supporting the tooth has been completely eroded by gingivitis, this procedure will help you stimulate tissue and bone regeneration by surgically installing a piece of mesh between the bone and the gum. This procedure is usually performed in conjunction with flap surgery.
Step 5. Help yourself
Regardless of what happens in the dentist's chair, it is what happens in your bathroom that determines the success or failure of the treatment you have chosen.
- Note that most home remedies such as creams and ointments only treat the symptoms of inflammation and do not remove the plaque that causes gingivitis.
- Healing and preventing gingivitis requires a daily plaque check. This generally means that you will have to stop the plaque on your own. Brushing your teeth every day with a toothbrush is a good start, but it's not enough.
Step 6. Use oral irrigations
It is an effective treatment against gingivitis that dentists recommend for daily plaque control. An oral irrigator is connected to a tap. The sprinkler will hit the mouth and gums with a pressurized water jet to remove food particles and bacteria from below the gum line.
- Research from the UNMC College of Dentistry in Lincoln indicates that "when combined with brushing, oral irrigation is an effective alternative to brushing and flossing in reducing bleeding, gum inflammation and plaque removal. ".
- However, some dentists recommend flossing. The point of infection is 4-10 mm deep. The thread will reach 2-3 mm at most.
Method 2 of 2: Treating Gingivitis at Home
Step 1. Please note that the following steps are unverified home remedies
It is in the best interest of your dental health that we recommend that you consult your dentist and limit yourself to combining the following home remedies with your dentist's advice. Don't use them to replace medical treatments.
Step 2. Try oral probiotics
Oral probiotics contain good bacteria that help restore the natural balance of bacteria in the mouth after using an oral antiseptic such as a mouthwash or toothpaste.
Some oral probiotics contain a bacterium called Lactobacillus reuteri, which occurs naturally in breast milk and saliva. This bacterium is especially recommended for non-surgical therapies, if you support other treatments for gingivitis
Step 3. Try ubiquinone
Ubiquinone, also known as Coenzyme Q10, helps convert fats and sugars into energy. In addition to being used for the treatment of diabetes and congestive heart failure, ubiquinone is also used for the treatment of gingivitis.
Step 4. Try a peroxide mouth rinse
An oral rinse that contains hydrogen peroxide will act as an antiseptic and antibacterial, and will help treat infections and relieve inflammation when it comes in contact with enzymes in the mouth.
Step 5. Use chlorhexidine gluconate spray
Chlorhexidine gluconate has antibacterial and anti-plaque properties. These sprays are also used to treat pain and discomfort caused by mouth ulcers, as well as inflammation and infections of the mouth.
You can use these sprays when brushing your teeth is difficult or painful, such as after surgery. Make sure you don't use the spray on your eyes and ears
Step 6. Try a hyaluronic acid gel
Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in the body, can be used in the treatment of some wounds and can stimulate the production of new tissue. For best results, use it at night before bedtime.
