We all want good oral health, and for that, almost everyone does regular brushing, and most of them do brushing & flossing. But often we see that even if you do brushing and flossing, you still can’t reach the whole area of your teeth, due to which the food particles are stuck over there.
Later, this will form bacteria, which itself generates plaque, later it will be harmful to your teeth as it will entirely damage your gums. And in order to avoid this, we should go for a regular dental checkup. We all want not to suffer from any dental issues, but we may have some problems even after that. But you should always expect that you should never have Gingivitis or Periodontitis.
These terms are not commonly used but are most harmful to your teeth than any other problem. As per their names, both are scary, and you should always wish that you shouldn’t have any of them. Gingivitis turns out to be Periodontitis, which only demands the loss of the teeth.
Now you must be confused between Gingivitis and Periodontal disease, well, don’t be. We will get to know about their differences so that you could take action accordingly.
What is Gingivitis?
Gingivitis can be defined as a gum inflammation that can lead to periodontal disease if not treated on time. We know that plaque is harmful to our gums, and the plaque is responsible for gum inflammation.
Gingivitis is always a signal that there is something serious; Periodontitis is about to harm your teeth entirely, so it would be better to treat it on time.
It is highly recommended that you should be more active during the Gingivitis stage as there is nothing to worry about, unlike in Periodontitis, where the damages are irreversible. So getting the treatment right at the Gingivitis stage would be beneficial for you.
What are the causes of Gingivitis?
The plaque formation could be for various reasons, of which most of them are known:
1: Poor Diet: If you do not consume proper vitamins, calcium, and other nutritions, your mouth won’t have enough immunity strength to fight with mouth bacteria and infections.
2: Smoking: If you are a smoker who smokes regularly and is at high risk of having Gingivitis, smokers don’t have enough tolerance power that could be used as an effective treatment.
3: Poor Hygiene: We all know that in order to have good oral health, you need to do brushing and flossing regularly; apart from this, using a mouthwash regularly could be beneficial for you.
4: Hormonal Changes: Sometimes, when a person is in the stage of puberty or pregnancy, they are more sensitive and can easily have Gingivitis problems.
5: Chronic Disease: If a person is suffering from Chronic Diseases such as HIV, or Blood Pressure, or Diabetes, you are more close to having Gingivitis; having a regular dental checkup would help.
Now you’re aware of what Gingivitis is and its causes, you must be worried that how do I know if I have Gingivitis?
Well, the answer is simple, if your gums are irritating, and they are swollen with a change in color to red, then it is a clear signal that you’re suffering from Gingivitis disease.
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Now let us know a brief about Periodontitis:
The stage of Periodontitis occurs just after the Gingivitis as if you do not take Gingivitis into consideration, it remains untreated, which later converts into Periodontitis.
You will notice that your teeth are not in proper structure and lose as the gum’s inner layer is reduced due to the harmful bacteria. Later the plaque generated spreads and severely damages the bone of the gumline.
The damage by Periodontitis is irreversible, and you may have to go with surgery in order to get rid of this issue, else sooner or later, all your teeth will be damaged entirely.
And if you want to know the causes of Periodontitis, then the primary and only cause of Periodontitis is not treating Gingivitis on time.
Now you’re left with the confusion that how do you know if you have Gingivitis or Periodontitis?
| Gingivitis | Periodontitis |
| Well, Gingivitis is the early stage, and usually, it does not damage the bonding of your teeth or gum line; neither can it harm the bones of the gumline. You will only notice swelling and irritation with a change of gum color to red. | Whereas if you have Periodontitis, you will notice that the gums and the gum line are not in proper shape; likewise, your teeth’ alignment will also be affected. |
Even you will notice that there is some unpleasant breath coming out from your mouth, though this may be due to some other issues also, it also helps in the verification of the occurrence of Gingivitis.
So if we talk about Gingivitis vs. Periodontal diseases, both of them are harmful; you just need to pay proper attention in the Gingivitis stage, as it is reversible and do not cause a lot of harms, whereas if you’ve got Periodontitis, you are at a higher risk of losing your teeth.
We should always treat gum diseases in their early stages; ignoring them can lead to a huge problem later. Now coming to the treatment of periodontal disease treatment, then you should know that there are surgical and nonsurgical options available.
The options for the Periodontitis treatment available are:
1: Cleaning:
As a regular dental cleaning process, you could avoid the effect of Gingivitis, and the cleaning process can reduce Periodontitis. In this process, the tartar and plaque formed at the gum line are removed. And if the condition is bad, you may have to go with multiple cleaning processes.
2: Scaling:
In most of the cases, dentists suggest going with the root planing and scaling treatment procedure. The success rate of scaling and root planing is far better than the cleaning process. The removal of plaque and tartar are more effective with this process, also with local anaesthesia implementation could speed up the process with no pain. Along with this, a lot of bacterial and fungal infections could be eliminated too.
3: Flap Surgery:
If the condition of the Periodontitis has gone way worse than expected, then in those cases, you may need to go with Flap Surgery or Pocket Reduction Surgery. In this process, the gums are lifted back, and any tartar formed is removed entirely. There may be some problems if you have some irregular teeth because the surfaces are smoothened in order to remove bacteria from the gums and the gum lines. It is a surgical process that is followed if the condition is not good.
4: LANAP:
This is a laser gum surgery option, which is recommended if you do not want to bear any pain; also, this surgery’s success rate is good. And people who have a sensitivity issue can also prefer going with this treatment procedure. You won’t have any pain, and as per the latest equipment implementations, the recovery time is very less.
5: Bone Grafts:
And when everything has gone beyond the control, you need to go with the Bone Grafting method. Here, small fragments of your bone or donated one is used to replace the damaged bone due to the Periodontitis. You can easily recover your gum line bones, which will later make your teeth stable again.
So these were the most common treatments available for Periodontitis or Gingivitis diseases. A lot of people think that Gingivitis is dangerous, but don’t worry, as now you’re well aware of Gingivitis vs Periodontitis, you can easily know whether you’re suffering from Gingivitis. or Periodontitis. You just need to pay proper attention during the early stages of Gingivitis.