If the pain in your gums overwhelms you at times, you may wonder if it's due to gum disease or something else. Although gum disease can cause discomfort in your gums, so can infection and tooth decay. A dentist can diagnose and treat the cause of your gum pain for you. Learn more about gum pain and how a dentist treats it below.
What Causes Gum Pain in Adults?
Gum pain isn't something you should ignore. Gum pain occurs when something causes unexplained discomfort in the gum tissue surrounding your teeth. The pain can occur at any time, including when you brush and floss your teeth.
One of the biggest causes of gum pain is periodontal disease. Periodontal disease, or gum disease, occurs when tiny organisms called bacteria infect or inflame your gums and/or jawbones. The infection can be mild in some people and intense in other individuals. Periodontal disease generally makes your gums swell, bleed, and ache over time. You may notice the symptoms more when you brush and floss your teeth.
Gum pain may also occur in people who develop abscesses in their teeth roots. Abscesses contain pus and other debris. Abscesses can become large enough to cause inflammation and pain in your gums.
Gum pain requires the intervention of a dentist to treat. You can find the answers to your gum pain by visiting a dentist today.
What Can a Dentist Do for You?
A dentist will need to take detailed X-rays of your teeth and jawbones before they can diagnose your gum pain correctly. As mentioned above, abscesses can cause infections in the mouth. If you have abscesses in your teeth roots or inside your teeth, a dentist can treat them with tooth fillings, antibiotics, and other specialized treatments.
If periodontal disease caused the ache in your gums, a dentist will run an assessment on your gums. A provider will use an assessment to determine the type and stage of gum disease you have right now. The type of gum disease you have may depend on the type of treatment you receive for it.
For example, if your gums are simply red and swollen, you may be in the first stage of gum disease. A dentist refers to the first stage of periodontal disease as gingivitis. Gingivitis generally requires regular dental, or tooth, cleanings to treat.
If your teeth wobble inside their sockets easily when a dentist touches them, you may be in the second and/or third stage of the disease. The second and third stages require more in-depth treatments to maintain and control. A provider can go over the treatments for second and third-stage periodontal disease with you during your assessment.
You can learn more about gum pain and how to diagnose it by consulting a dentist for services today.
Share15 August 2022
Toddlers should see a dentist for the first time by the age of twelve months or by the time their first tooth comes in. But if you are a parent with toddlers anything like mine, the prospect of going to the dentist (let alone anywhere!) can be pretty intimidating. My kids were a handful growing up. They had tantrums any time we would have to sit in a waiting room, and they refused to get in the dentist's chair during their first few visits. So, I had to employ a professional to help me make the transition to finally getting them in that dental chair without all the screaming and crying. I know I'm not the only parent in this situation, so I decided to share the information I've learned with others who can use a little help. You can find all my advice right here on these pages!