Hygiene Corner
Gingivitis - The inflammation of the Gum Tissue
Winter 2008
Many people are affected by some form of gingivitis. Gingivitis means, the inflammation of the gum tissue. There are many stages of gingivitis and clinical signs of gingivitis. The clinical signs include redness, swollen areas around the margins of the gingiva and bleeding.
The first stage of gingivitis is sub clinical. Sub clinical gingivitis basically entails 204 days of plaque accumulation. Loss of collagen occurs during this stage. The second stage of gingivitis is clinical or established gingivitis. During this stage, plaque has been accumulating for 4-14 days. The gingiva is now red, blue, or purple in color and may be shiny. Even more collagen is lost and the gum tissue is softer and more resilient. The third and final stage is chronic gingivitis. Since the bacteria or microbes have not been eliminated, the body tries to compensate for itself by producing more collagen. The gingival tissue becomes larger by the collagen that is made. The tissue now looks leathery instead of shiny. Treatment of all the stages of gingivitis is plaque removal. Gingivitis is one hundred percent reversible if proper home care is utilized.
If a patient does not comply with improved home care once diagnosed with gingivitis, it can become periodontitis. Periodontitis is the inflammation of the periodontium. Periodontium is the surrounding structures like ligaments and bone that help hold your teeth in place. During the progression of periodontitis, permanent tissue damage begins. This loss of permanent tissue leads to loss of attachment and ultimately loss of bone structure.
There is no cure for periodontitis. Periodontitis is also known as gum disease or periodontal disease. Once gingivitis has progressed to periodontitis, the body cannot repair itself. During the stages of periodontitis, there are periods of remission and exacerbation. Once the loss of tissue attachment has occurred, plaque and bacteria are welcomed below the gum line or subgingivally. The microbes grow and change the underlying levels of attachment, thus leading to destroyed bone.
With no bone for support, our teeth become mobile. The bone or gingival margins will not grow back without periodontal treatments like bone or gingiva grafts. But with proper treatments like prophylaxis and scaling and root planning, we have a better chance for our teeth to survive.
Gena M. Hughes, RDH, CDA
