Gingivitis Treatment | What You Need to Know About Treating This Common Dental Issue
Gingivitis is among the most common dental health problems. And although professional teeth cleaning is one of the simplest techniques we use to treat gingivitis, people still forget to schedule an appointment at their dentist’s office for a regular checkup.
Here, we’ll go over a few things about gingivitis and gingivitis treatment. We’ll cover preventive care, how to treat gingivitis, how to get rid of gingivitis, and what to expect if your dentist notices gingivitis during a dental exam.
Regular Dental Evaluation Is Key to Preventing Gingivitis
There are a lot of reasons why visiting your dentist on a regular basis is important. Regularly booking a dental exam will give you more insight into whether or not your teeth are as healthy as they can and should be.
If any issues occur, your dentist will notice them and recommend the best course of treatment. If signs of gingivitis, in particular, are evident, there’s a simple gingivitis treatment that includes teeth cleaning by a professional.
Even if there are no signs of this common dental issue, it’s important to take good care of your teeth by brushing at least two times a day and flossing regularly. This will ensure you’ll have a bright smile and healthy teeth for as long as possible. Professional dental cleaning is also recommended once a year.
What’s the Best Gingivitis Cure?
If you’re looking for ways to get rid of gingivitis, the first option should be to schedule an appointment for a dental exam and cleaning.
This gingivitis treatment isn’t painful at all. At worst, it can only feel uncomfortable. It can be done with or without local anesthetics, depending on the patient’s teeth sensitivity. The process takes less than an hour, and the patient is able to drive home without any issues.
The process includes removing all signs of plaque and tartar buildup from the patient’s teeth and below the gumline.
Teeth Cleaning As Gingivitis Treatment
When people think about teeth cleaning, a toothbrush and floss usually come to mind first. But, when it comes to a gingivitis cure, just brushing your teeth won’t be enough.
Dental evaluation and teeth cleaning at a dental clinic is the only type of treatment you’ll need to get rid of gingivitis properly. The dentist will use a specific tool that uses vibration and pressurized water to remove all the plaque buildup from your teeth. Depending on the severity of the buildup, the dentist might need to do a deep cleaning procedure which includes using a scaling tool and removing debris and buildup from under the gumline.
This is a bit more painful than regular teeth cleaning, but it’s a necessary gingivitis cure. Without deep cleaning, gingivitis will most likely evolve into periodontosis.
How to Prevent Gingivitis From Appearing?
There are a couple of things everyone can do to avoid having to undergo professional gingivitis treatment. This includes:
- Brushing your teeth two times a day
- Flossing
- Replacing your toothbrush two or three times a year
Proper teeth cleaning is the first thing you should do to keep plaque and tartar from building up. Investing in a quality toothbrush and quality toothpaste will help you get rid of plaque and tartar buildup in your teeth, but you’ll still need to brush your teeth at least two times a day. For maximum effect, you can brush your teeth after every meal.
Flossing is another thing many people forget to do, but it’s as important as brushing your teeth. Usually, food debris gets stuck in hard-to-reach places, so you can’t remove it just by brushing. But sometimes, the debris gets stuck so deep between your teeth that you can’t even feel it with your tongue. Therefore, it’s of the utmost importance to floss before you go to bed.
Toothbrushes need to be replaced regularly not only because they deteriorate over time but because bacteria can develop and jeopardize your oral health. After gingivitis treatment, your dentist will most likely recommend you replace your old toothbrush with a new one
Signs That You Need Gingivitis Treatment
If you haven’t had an oral exam done by dental professionals lately, it’s important to spot the signs of gum disease so you can take action as soon as possible.
One of the most common signs that you need to see a dentist is swollen gums. They’re the first indicator that there’s something wrong, and plaque and tartar buildup are the culprits in most cases.
Noticing blood from your gums and extreme gum and tooth sensitivity are other signs you should be looking for if you’re suspecting gingivitis.
The sooner you take action after noticing any symptom, the less likely you’ll be looking for ways on how to treat gingivitis and possibly even more serious dental issues.
If you ignore the common signs of gingivitis and don’t schedule dentist teeth cleaning, the problem can easily turn into periodontosis, which is much more difficult to cure.
Is There Any Recovery Time After Gingivitis Treatment?
Now that we’ve seen how one can treat gingivitis, it’s time to talk about recovery time and aftercare.
When it comes to recovery time, it usually takes 10–14 days. The first few days can be uncomfortable as a result of teeth cleaning. You can expect a slight pain in your gums, but the gums heal pretty quickly. You can use anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen to reduce pain.
When it comes to aftercare, it’s basically the same as prevention — brushing your teeth after every meal and flossing at least once a day should do the trick. You’ll most likely feel discomfort while doing this, but the pain and discomfort will subside after a couple of days. Then, you can continue with your normal daily routine.