Gingivitis vs Periodontitis

For many, there might be a bit of confusion surrounding gingivitis and periodontitis. In this article, we’ll go over the difference between the two conditions, their causes, symptoms, and treatment.

The Difference Between Gingivitis and Periodontitis

Gingivitis is when your gums become inflamed, caused by plaque building up on your teeth. This plaque contains bacteria which leads to infection in the gums.

Your gums will be easily irritated during the early stages of gingivitis and may often start to bleed when you brush your teeth. However, in cases of gingivitis, your teeth are still planted in their sockets, and no irreversible damage to your bone or tissue has occurred just yet.

If left untreated, gingivitis can continue to advance until it turns into a case of periodontitis. This is when the inner layer of your gum and bone pulls away from your tooth, forming pockets. Bacteria, plaque, and tartar build up in these small pockets, and remains generally unreachable for toothbrushes. Inflammation continues to increase.

Toxins produced by the build-up of bacteria in the pockets start to break down the tooth’s bone and connective tissue. As this happens, your tooth will become increasingly loose. Eventually, severe cases of untreated periodontitis will lead to tooth loss.

The Causes and Prevention of Gingivitis

Generally, the most common form of gingivitis is poor oral hygiene. This encourages plaque to grow on your teeth, which can harden into tartar on your gums. This is basically a protective shield for bacteria to continue growing, which in turn will lead to inflammation.

Other common causes of gingivitis are:

• Smoking
• Poor nutrition
• Older age
• Health conditions that decrease your immunity
• Certain prescription drugs
• Hormonal changes

Preventing gingivitis from developing involves solid dental hygiene, regular visits to the dentist, and a healthy, balanced diet.

The Signs and Symptoms of Periodontitis

If gingivitis progresses untreated, it can turn into a case of periodontitis. At times, this can develop without showing causing you any pain, even at the later stages of the disease. Symptoms can be subtle, but keep an eye out for the following:

• Bleeding gums. If your gums start to bleed during or after brushing your teeth, it could point towards a developing case of gum disease.
• Red, tender, or swollen gums. If the gum around a tooth is extra red, swollen, or a bit tender to the touch, this is another warning sign.
• Frequent bad breath.
• Loose teeth. This could mean that pockets have begun to form, building up bacteria that will lead to inflammation of the gums.
• Pain when biting down, or a change in how your teeth fit together.

The Diagnosis of Gum Disease

Dentists have been trained to look for the signs and symptoms of gingivitis and gum disease during regular check-ups and cleaning. In general, they look for swelling or tenderness of your gums, whether any of your teeth are unusually loose, and whether any pockets have developed between your gum and the tooth where bacteria might be growing.

X-rays of your jaw can also reveal advanced cases of periodontitis where the patient has suffered bone loss in a tooth.

Common Treatments

The goal of treating periodontitis is to promote the reattachment of healthy gums to your teeth. This closes off and fills the pockets where bacteria can start to build up.

Treatment obviously depends on the stage of gum disease, but there are three approaches: non-surgical, surgical, or with antibiotics.

The least invasive non-surgical approach is a simple dental cleaning; however, this is more of a prevention technique than a treatment. During this procedure, dentists clear away any build-up of plaque and tartar on your teeth. Any signs of gum disease might lead to your dentist recommending you get a cleaning twice a year.

The first treatment for periodontitis is scaling and root planing. This is essentially a deep clean, where the dentist delves down below your gum line to clear away the build-up of bacteria. Smoothing out any rough spots (root planing) leaves a clean surface for your gums to reattach to your teeth.

Beyond that, there’s a range of surgical options to treat gum disease depending on how advanced it is. This is generally performed by an endodontist, which is a dentist who specialises in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of gum disease. Common surgical procedures are:

• Pocket reduction surgery
• Bone grafts
• Soft tissue grafts
• Guided tissue regeneration
• Bone surgery

Treatment with antibiotics can either be used alone or in combination with either of the above treatment types.

Prevention of Gum Disease

Here are some tips to follow if you want to prevent gum disease from occurring.

• Don’t smoke. Smoking less than half a packet of cigarettes every day makes it three times as likely that you’ll develop gum disease.
• Develop good oral hygiene. That means brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing before bed, and regular dental check-ups and cleanings.
• Invest in an electric toothbrush. While more expensive, electric toothbrushes are better at removing plaque than regular toothbrushes.
• A healthy and well-balanced diet.