Methods of treatment and prevention of gingivitis - symptoms of disease
Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gingival mucosa, the name of the disease from the Latin word gingiva - gum.
Gingivitis is a fairly common disease, especially common in adolescence, juvenile gingivitis, and pregnant women. In these patients, in connection with hormonal changes, the disease, as a rule, is more severe.
Progression of gingivitis can lead to serious complications, especially to periodontitis, which ultimately leads to tooth loss. Often, gingivitis itself is a consequence of periodontitis or periodontitis.
First signs and causes of gingivitis
The causes of gingivitis are very diverse. Conditionally they are divided into internal and external.
Internal causes are primarily the following:
- Teeth growth and trauma to the growing gum tooth,
- bite pathology,
- hypovitaminosis,
- various diseases of the digestive system,
- decrease in immunity due to various reasons.
External causes are effects:
- physical( mechanical trauma, burn, radiation exposure),
- chemical( impact on the gums of aggressive substances),
- biological( various infections),
- medical( iatrogenic gum damage during medical manipulation) factors.
The most common cause of gingivitis is the presence of a number of carious teeth, complicated by the attachment of a bacterial infection. There is also viral gingivitis, in most cases herpetic, but gingivitis can develop in other viral infections. Many people are interested in the question of whether gingivitis is contagious. This disease is not contagious, but if the disease is a consequence of an infection, especially a viral infection, such gingivitis can be considered contagious.
In childhood, the main cause of gingivitis is teething and traumatizing the mucous membranes of the gums, but often at this age, there is a simple marginal gingivitis, the cause of which is non-compliance with oral hygiene.
There are the following varieties of gingivitis:
- catarrhal,
- hypertrophic,
- atrophic,
- desquamative,
- ulcerative gingivitis( or acute ulcerative necrotic gingivitis of Vincent).
Also traditionally, gingivitis is divided into acute and chronic forms.
If the process grasps the entire gum, then gingivitis is called generalized, if the inflammatory process is limited to a separate gum site, talk about localized gingivitis.
Symptomatic of the disease
Catarrhal gingivitis is characterized by inflammation caused by inflammation, swelling of the mucous membrane and bleeding gums. Patients with this form of the disease are concerned about a small itch in the gum area and their soreness during eating.
Ulcerative necrotic gingivitis is manifested by the formation on the mucosa of the gums necrotic areas and ulceration. Clinical symptoms are represented by an unpleasant odor from the mouth - halitosis, severe soreness of the gums, deterioration of the general condition, increased body temperature, increased regional lymph nodes.
Hypertrophic gingivitis is characterized by an increase in papillae. At the initial stage, this form of the disease does not manifest itself as any unpleasant sensations, and then there are bleeding gums and their soreness during eating.
When atrophic gingivitis occurs, on the contrary, the decrease in the volume of the gum tissue, gradually its level decreases, which leads to exposure of the root of the tooth. Such a form of the disease manifests itself first of all with pain when exposed to cold or hot food.
Desquamative gingivitis develops in women during the menopause due to the increased vulnerability of the mucous membranes of the gums, which is often observed during this period due to insufficient formation of gingival epithelial cells. This form of the disease is characterized by the appearance, in addition to painful sensations and bleeding gums during eating, the appearance of peculiar bubbles.
Effective treatment of
Treatment of gingivitis, which should only be performed by a dentist, is primarily to eliminate predisposing factors: the sanitation of carious teeth, the elimination of dental plaques and so on. In some cases, it may be necessary to perform a surgical procedure - curettage.
In addition, various medications are prescribed: antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, local immunomodulators, if necessary, antifungals and some other drugs.
When treating gingivitis in pregnant women, it is necessary to take into account this state of the body and apply only those drugs that will not harm the health of both the mother and her child.
Prevention of gingivitis
For the prevention of gingivitis, it is sufficient to perform such simple and accessible rules:
- daily clean teeth in the morning and in the evening,
- remove food residues with dental silk thread,
- regularly undergo preventive examination at the dentist,
- timely clean teeth of dental plaques andplaque at the dentist, treat carious teeth and other pathologies of the oral cavity.
It is also necessary to treat other diseases in a timely manner, which can be complicated with the development of gingivitis.