Effective treatment and prevention of gingivitis in adults at home are daily hygiene procedures, proper nutrition, smoking cessation, and a timely visit to the dentist. If these rules are neglected, the development of inflammatory processes will become chronic, and the periods of remission will be very short.
There are several types of this dental disease, each of which has its clinical picture. All varieties have an individual therapeutic regimen, which is selected by the doctor after collecting an anamnesis and conducting a diagnosis.
Treatment for children and pregnant women will be different from other patients. Therapy for them has some features since their body needs a special approach.
About the disease
This is inflammation of the gums at the junctions with dental units. The risk group includes infants during the appearance of new teeth and adolescents. As well as people with a weakened immune system, neglecting hygiene procedures, and having systemic pathologies.
Inflammation develops rather slowly. If you find signs of illness, you should immediately make an appointment with the dentist. If you do not start timely and effective therapy, this is fraught with serious complications that are difficult to treat.
There are 3 stages in the development of the disease:
- Light;
- Average;
- Heavy.
First, only the interdental spaces are affected. After some time, the focus of inflammation spreads to other areas.
Pathogenesis
Hygiene is considered a predisposing factor. If a person does not brush his teeth twice a day and does not perform other care procedures, then he develops an inflammatory process, accompanied by severe pain, blood from the gums, loosening of all units of the dentition, and other troubles.
Causes can be classified into internal and external. Group 1 includes:
- The appearance of primary teeth. In the course, soft tissues may be affected, they begin to bleed.
- Lack of vitamins and minerals. With their deficiency, immunity weakens, and it is not able to resist pathogenic microorganisms.
- Pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Infection. It usually develops with an insufficient immune response in preschool children.
- Caries. It must be treated promptly to prevent complications in the form of gingivitis, periodontitis, tooth loss, and other causes.
External factors:
- Mucous burns;
- Penetration of heavy metals;
- Exposure;
- Injury.
Often, the inflammatory process is detected in adolescents and women in positions. This is due to changes in the hormonal background.
Types and symptoms of gingivitis
The table shows the types of pathology, as well as the clinical picture that accompanies them:
Atrophic
- Mucous membranes acquire a slightly pinkish tint;
- Bleeding and inflamed foci are practically absent;
- Some areas have undergone atrophy;
- Roots are visible;
- Sensitivity to any external stimuli increases;
- Interdental spaces widen.
Catarrhal
- Superficial lesion;
- Putrid smell from the mouth;
- Bleeding gums;
- Severe pain syndrome, especially when chewing;
- Puffiness;
- Local lesions of the papillae of the tongue.
Hypertrophic
- This is a chronic form. More often, the lesion is diagnosed in the frontal zones of the jaws, in abnormal areas.
Ulcerative necrotic
- The formation of ulcers;
- Swelling and bleeding;
- Signs of intoxication of the body;
- Grayish-green plaque, which is removed with difficulty;
- Sticky saliva.
This inflammatory process develops more often in pediatric patients.
How to treat different types of gingivitis
The treatment regimen is selected by the doctor depending on the type of disease. However, the sequence will be the same in all cases:
- Determination of the degree of pollution. Specialized coloring compositions are used. After their application, areas with plaque change color, which allows you to assess the extent of the lesion.
- Repetition of hygiene rules. The specialist selects a suitable toothbrush, paste, and other care products. The dentist also talks about the basic rules of care.
- Professional cleaning. The most popular is the ultrasonic technique with further polishing of the area adjacent to the gum.
- Treatment of affected areas with medications. Additionally, physiotherapeutic procedures and surgical interventions can be prescribed.
- If there are chronic systemic pathologies, the client is referred to auxiliary diagnostic methods, and testing, to specialists in related specialties.
Atrophic
Diagnosis and treatment of this type of gingivitis in adults (photo of what the symptoms look like, see below) provide for an integrated approach. Therapy for each patient is selected individually. If the development of inflammation is caused by autoimmune diseases, therapeutic measures are aimed at suppressing them.
For a quick recovery, actions are required to strengthen the natural defenses. It is also important to exclude any factors that can lead to tissue trauma.
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Cleaning is mandatory. The doctor prescribes medicines to start and accelerate regeneration. Prostheses and bite correctors are subject to correction if necessary.
To prevent the spread and suppression of infectious agents, antibacterial drugs are prescribed by a specialist. The gums are treated with antiseptic agents. Physiotherapeutic procedures and massages are carried out. In advanced cases, they resort to surgical intervention (gingivoplasty).
Catarrhal
Dentists remove hardened plaque, and caries, and install fillings. Sometimes prostheses are put in, and the frenulum of the lip is trimmed. Applications are applied, and rinsing and treatment of the affected areas are prescribed.
Non-traditional remedies also belong to effective methods of treating gingivitis of the teeth. You can rinse with herbal infusions, and apply compresses. If this does not give the desired therapeutic result, you need to visit a doctor so that he picks up another therapy regimen.
Hypertrophic
The pathological process is treated classically. First, plaque is removed, then antiseptic treatment is performed, baths are made, and physiotherapy is prescribed.
If the patient’s condition does not improve, you will have to resort to sclerosing therapy – special solutions are injected into the gingival papillae, and ointments and creams with hormones are additionally prescribed. It may also require the restoration of teeth, and prosthetics.
Ulcerative necrotic
First of all, you need to take measures to strengthen and stimulate the immune system. To eliminate external symptoms, cleaning is performed, dead tissues are removed, and areas with ulcers are treated with antiseptic solutions to destroy infectious agents.
Subsequent rehabilitation consists in observing the rules of hygiene, rinsing the mouth several times a day, and treating with local medications. It’s also important to watch your diet. The foods you eat should be high in protein, vitamins, and minerals. Don’t forget about the water balance. Every day you need to drink at least 1.5-2 liters of water.
How to cure gum gingivitis in adults at home
It is impossible to make a diagnosis on your own and self-medicate with a disease. Therapy at home is possible only after an examination by a specialist when he gave all the necessary recommendations.
Together with prescribed drugs, you can use folk methods. However, you need to understand that, despite the relative safety, such drugs have some contraindications, they can provoke side effects. Therefore, these prescriptions are allowed to be used only after consultation with the attending physician in the dosage prescribed by him.
An important component of complex therapy is a special diet, which includes a large number of fruits and vegetables:
- Citrus fruits (the composition contains a lot of ascorbic acids, which strengthen the walls of blood vessels, respectively, preventing bleeding);
- Apples, pears (they have pectin in their constituent components, which accelerates tissue healing);
- Berries (stimulate the immune response);
- Vegetables (improve metabolic and recovery processes due to coarse fibers and antioxidants).
Note! It is necessary to exclude simple carbohydrates, rich products, sweets, and potato dishes. Due to their use, a thick plaque appears on the teeth, which eventually turns into stone.
Medicines for gingivitis
In advanced cases, the use of antibiotics is indispensable. They are dispensed in pharmacies by prescription. Accordingly, they can be taken only after the appointment of the attending physician, so that the medicines are effective, and do not harm the body. Most often, Amoxicillin, Metronidazole, and Erythromycin are prescribed as antibacterial drugs.
Means of local influence
Medicines in the form of a gel and cream are applied to the affected area and facilitate the course of the inflammatory process. For external applications, anti-inflammatory drugs are used.
Folk recipes
Some patients who do not want to go to a medical institution for various reasons begin to look for information from home on how to treat gum gingivitis at home without pharmacy medicines. Such methods of treatment can only alleviate the condition of the patient, but not cure him. Therefore, they should be used not only as part of complex therapy but also after the approval of a specialist.
If you approach the use of folk recipes correctly, in combination with medications, they will help speed up the healing process. Most often, doctors prescribe the following decoctions and infusions:
- 1 st. l. sage pour 200 ml of boiling water. Insist 30 min. Strain after cooling. Infusion rinses your mouth several times a day.
- 1 tsp dissolve baking soda in a glass of warm water. This tool is also intended for rinsing.
- Mix 2 tbsp. l. crushed oak bark and dried celandine. Pour the ingredients into 2 cups of boiling water. Rinse your mouth with liquid at least 4 rubles/day. until symptom relief.
Vitamins
The composition of complex therapy necessarily includes the intake of vitamin and mineral complexes. They must also be prescribed by the attending physician. Vitamin deficiencies can be just as harmful as vitamin deficiencies.
Features of the treatment of gingivitis
Pregnant women and young children require a special therapeutic approach, as their body is especially vulnerable to external adverse factors. In addition, many medicines and procedures for them are prohibited. But this does not mean that you need to wait for the inflammatory process to pass by itself, since this will not happen. Such tactics will only lead to complications. Individual treatment regimens have been developed for these categories of patients.
Treatment in children
The therapeutic approach is similar to that used for adults, but has some features:
- Ultrasonic cleaning. Although the procedure is safe and painless, it does not last more than 20 minutes.
- Anti-inflammatory, antibacterial therapy. Medical gels and rinse solutions are used.
- Measures to strengthen the immune system. Vitamins are prescribed because they contribute to the restoration of tissues.
- Orthodontic intervention. It is resorted to biting defects that caused the pathology.
Upon detection of the ulcerative-necrotic type of the disease and after the relief of the lesion, dead fibers are removed under local anesthesia, and the mucous membranes are cauterized with the current. Next, anesthetic gels are prescribed, for example, Kamistad, and Kalgel.
It is very important to maintain hygiene. Otherwise, soon the inflammation will begin again.
If the disease manifested itself in infancy, then the therapy will be different. Regular massage is performed, and gums and teeth are cleaned with a silicone brush, which is put on the finger.
Therapeutic regimen during pregnancy
How and how to treat gingivitis in an adult at home, the doctor always determines. Especially if the patient is a pregnant woman. The disease develops due to changes in the hormonal background, and lack of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, the doctor prescribes a vitamin-mineral complex, which is allowed for pregnant women.
During the period of bearing a child, any antibiotics are prohibited. The dentist cleans and treats with safe antiseptics. Vacuum therapy gives a good result.
Pregnant women can rinse their mouths with warm chamomile decoction. This will remove swelling and stop the bleeding. Any pharmacy and folk remedies should be prescribed by specialists, self-medication is unacceptable, especially while waiting for a child.
We must not forget about hygiene procedures. Give preference to soft brushes. It is also recommended to give up too hard foods in the diet.
Prevention from Gingivitis in Adults
Any disease is easier to prevent than to treat for a long time. Preventive measures are as follows:
- If caries is detected, you should immediately contact a dentist until the inflammation has penetrated deep into the tissues of the tooth;
- Regularly clean the interdental spaces;
- Do not neglect to visit the dentist for preventive purposes;
- Avoid hypothermia;
- Pay attention to your immunity, and engage in its strengthening;
- Brush your teeth twice a day, rinse your mouth after each meal to remove food particles;
- Quit smoking and other bad habits;
- Adhere to a balanced diet, include more foods with coarse fibers in them;
- Lead a healthy lifestyle.
Final Remarks on Gingivitis in Adults
Summing up, we can say that the inflammatory process occurs in the gums and soft tissues of the oral cavity, accompanied by the appearance of blood smears and pain. The clinical picture will vary depending on the form of the disease. Also, selecting an effective therapeutic scheme depends on the type of disease.
When symptoms appear, you should immediately make an appointment with the doctor. The pathology is difficult to treat with the development of complications and the transition to a chronic form. How to cure gum gingivitis, only a specialist knows; you can not self-medicate at home. The best solution would be to contact the dental clinic “Dentika” to permanently eliminate unpleasant symptoms.