A hurting or painful gingival or gum tissue is not normal, even though it is prevalent. Gum tissue pain or bleeding could indicate an underlying dental concern. Several factors can cause your gums to hurt, including irritation or a dental issue. Understanding the cause of the painful gums can help you manage the symptoms. If the pain persists and is accompanied by other symptoms, you should consult a dental provider for an accurate diagnosis and treatment. The expert will identify the cause of the pain and recommend appropriate treatment. Here are the common reasons why your gums are hurting.
Gum Disease
Also called periodontal disease or periodontitis, gum disease is the inflammation of the gingival tissue surrounding the teeth that happens when harmful bacteria damage the tissue fibers and bone, leading to an infection that affects the jawbone and gum tissue. Gum disease has various phases, including gingivitis and periodontitis.
Gingivitis
Gingivitis is the mild phase of gum disease. The disease exhibits symptoms like redness, swelling, tenderness, and soreness in the gums. You may experience bleeding during brushing and flossing when you have the condition. Therefore, if you are experiencing pain in the gingival tissue, it could be due to gingivitis.
The primary cause of gingivitis is poor oral hygiene. When you fail to brush your teeth or do poorly, the food particles form a colorless layer known as plaque. The layer is difficult to remove with the standard brushing and flossing, and forms due to a chemical reaction between the sugars in the food particles and harmful mouth bacteria. Plaque produces harmful bacteria that irritate the gum tissue, causing it to swell and become sore.
Apart from poor dental hygiene, other causes of gingivitis are:
- Medical conditions like diabetes and cancer impair the body’s immune system, making it challenging to fight infections like gum disease.
- Hormonal changes during menopause, pregnancy, puberty, and menstruation cause organic imbalance in the mouth, resulting in soft tissue inflammation.
- Medications that cause a dry mouth effect lead to the overgrowth of harmful microorganisms in the mouth due to the absence of saliva that clears food debris and bacteria from the mouth after eating. The increased production of toxic bacteria in the mouth causes gum inflammation.
- Smoking causes a drug mouth effect, leaving the gingival tissue and teeth with no protection, increasing the risk of mild gum disease.
- Family history
- Aging
Periodontitis
When gingivitis is not reversed early, it advances into a severe infection known as periodontal disease. The symptoms you could exhibit when you suffer from this condition are:
- Red, sore, or inflamed gingival tissue
- Bleeding in the soft tissue, particularly when brushing
- Receding gums with deep periodontal pockets
- Halitosis
- Lose teeth
- Increased tooth sensitivity
- Pain when chewing
Periodontitis is a severe version of gingivitis, meaning that the causes of the condition are similar to those of gingivitis, including poor dental hygiene.
Gum Disease Treatment
Gingivitis and periodontitis could cause the pain you are experiencing in the gums. Therefore, when your gums become painful, coupled with other symptoms of gum disease, it is time to consult a dental expert for a thorough examination and an accurate diagnosis. The diagnosis entails a comprehensive dental exam for plaque buildup and gum tissue inflammation. The dentist also reviews your medical records and inquires about your oral hygiene and lifestyle to identify the cause of the disease. The dentist can also suggest an X-ray to establish the extent of the damage caused by the infection and SPOT the calculus. The results of these examinations advise on the course of treatment.
Typically, gingivitis can be reversed with a dental cleaning procedure to remove the plaque and calculus on the teeth. Once the teeth are clear of tartar buildup, your dental expert recommends brushing at least twice daily and flossing once. Adopting proper oral hygiene, maintaining regular dental visits, and quitting harmful habits like smoking can reverse gingivitis.
However, when diagnosed with periodontitis, you will require a therapeutic procedure, which can be surgical or non-surgical. Non-surgical treatments for periodontal disease include deep cleaning, entailing removal of tartar beneath the gum margin and on the tooth root. After the cleaning, the dentist applies local antibiotics in the periodontal pockets to kill the remaining infection and prevent a relapse.
In advanced periodontal disease, your dental expert will refer you to a periodontist who performs a flap surgery, a gingival tissue graft, or a bone graft. Flap surgery entails folding the gum near the periodontal pocket to create proper scaling and root planing space. Gum tissue graft entails reinforcing the damaged gums or covering exposed tooth roots using soft tissue from a donor or the roof of your mouth to enhance the smile's appearance.
Gum disease is a common cause of painful gum tissue. Luckily, you can prevent the condition or soreness in the gums through good dental hygiene, routine visits to the dentist for checkups, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Improper or Aggressive Brushing and Flossing
Proper oral hygiene, such as brushing teeth after meals and flossing once daily, promotes good dental health and prevents gum disease associated with painful gingival tissue. However, brushing or flossing must be done correctly to stop hurting the gums, which is the problem you were trying to avoid in the first place by cleaning the teeth. Brushing the teeth aggressively or using a toothbrush with hard bristles could be the source of the pain you are experiencing in the gums.
If the gingival tissue usually hurts after brushing, it indicates that you are doing it incorrectly or aggressively. Consult your dentist on the best practices when brushing to avoid harming the gums and achieve the desired outcome.
One of the pointers for brushing your teeth safely and properly is to find the appropriate tools. Buy a soft-bristled toothbrush to avoid hurting the gums and replace it every three to four months.
Avoid aggressive brushing like a pen for a lighter touch on the teeth and soft tissue. Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle to the gingival margin so the bristles can remove the plaque and debris trapped in the sulcus or the V-shaped, shallow pockets on the gum margin.
Do not scrape vigorously. Instead, hold the brush gently and use circular motions or strokes, as if you are massaging the teeth.
Finally, you should floss your teeth at least once to eliminate the debris and plaque trapped between the teeth and beneath the gingival margin.
Canker Sores
Another reason why your gums could be hurting is canker sores. These tiny, painful ulcers form on the gingival tissue inside the cheeks or the tongue. They have a yellow or white center and a red border. Stress, certain foods, or small injuries in the mouth cause them. The lesions are extremely painful, particularly when eating or drinking. The throbbing pain worsens when you touch it.
The risk of developing these mouth ulcers is higher among people with autoimmune conditions. They usually disappear after one or two weeks without treatment. However, if yours persists, you might want to schedule an appointment with a dentist for an evaluation.
Tobacco Use
Consuming tobacco products through smoking or chewing elevates the risk of developing gum disease, whose common symptom is painful gum tissue. Besides, the use of tobacco products masks the symptoms of existing dental conditions, increasing the risk of the disease advancing as the dental expert cannot make an early diagnosis.
If you use tobacco products and your gingival tissue hurts, it could be because of the product. Therefore, you need to stop the usage to protect the gum tissue and minimize the risk of dental cancer.
Allergies
An allergic reaction could cause the gums to hurt. The reaction could be from a dental product you are using, like mouthwash or toothpaste, that is irritating the gums.
When you suspect an oral hygiene product is causing an allergic reaction that hurts your gums, find out which one and stop its use immediately. You can eliminate the pain if you discontinue using the product causing the reaction.
Food Allergy
Oral hygiene products are not the only cause of allergic reactions. So, when you discontinue some of the products you suspect could be hurting you, but the pain in the gums persists, it means your food could be the source of the allergy. How do you identify the foods that are causing allergies? Discontinue the food for thirty days, then reintroduce it to see if the allergy recurs. Alternatively, you can schedule an appointment with an allergist to help you quickly identify the foods causing allergic reactions and discontinue them. The pain will disappear once you remove the food irritating the gums from your diet.
Hormonal Changes
Women experience hormonal fluctuation or influx during menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, or puberty. At puberty, an increase in hormones elevates blood flow to the gingival tissue, which leads to inflammation and sensitivity.
Also, before menstrual periods, the gums of some women become swollen and sore and are prone to bleeding. However, once the periods end, the gums return to normal without treatment.
Again, inflammation and bleeding in the gingival tissue are common during pregnancy, which can cause soreness.
Menopause also causes a dry mouth, making the gums sore and prone to bleeding. If you believe the pain in the gums is due to hormonal changes, consult your dental provider for an evaluation and treatment.
Dental Abscess
An oral abscess is a pus-filled pocket stemming from bacterial infection. When it forms on the tip of the tooth root, it is a periapical abscess; when it forms on the gum margin, it is a periodontal abscess. The abscess symptoms include throbbing pain in the gum tissue, fever, foul taste, gum inflammation, and increased tooth sensitivity. When you experience these symptoms, the gums could hurt because of a dental abscess, and it is time to see a dental provider. Your expert will evaluate your gums and mouth, and if they diagnose you with an abscess, they will recommend the right treatment, including a root canal.
Ill-fitting Dental Appliances
When metal braces, dentures, or other oral appliances do not fit properly on the gums, they rub against the tissue, irritating. You could suffer soft tissue damage or gum disease if the irritation persists. Signs that your appliances irritate the gums include soreness, redness, and constant pain. If you experience these symptoms, consult your dentist to adjust the appliances or fabricate a perfect fit that does not irritate the soft tissue. Also, you should pick materials for your appliances that will not irritate the gums.
Eruption of the Wisdom Teeth
When your wisdom teeth are popping, they push against the gingival tissue, hence the localized pain and soreness on the gums around the eruption area. The pain is worse if the wisdom tooth is impacted. Also, you are at risk of developing a bacterial infection; hence, the need to seek treatment.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Your oral health significantly hinges on your diet. Proper nutrition with enough vitamin B and C contributes to healthy gums. If your diet is deficient in these vitamins, you are prone to diseases like scurvy that exhibit symptoms like pain and soreness in the gums. Thankfully, you can keep your gums from hurting by eating a balanced diet with sufficient vitamins and minerals for healthy gums and teeth.
Oral Cancer
Soreness in the gum tissue heals on itself sometimes or with proper treatment. However, in rare cases, the sores refuse to heal even with treatment. Other times, lumps and unusual patches with a white or red coat appear in the gums, causing them to hurt. If the ulcers or unusual growth in the mouth do not go away after two weeks of treatment, it could be a sign of oral cancer, and you should go for screening. An early diagnosis means you can undergo treatment to remove the cancerous cells and restore your health, including alleviating the pain in the gums.
Find a Competent Dental Specialists Near Me
Your gums could be hurting because of several reasons, some of which can be fixed without the need for treatment but only a lifestyle change. When the pain becomes persistent, it could be a sign of an underlying oral condition, and you should go for an examination. Once the condition is accurately diagnosed, the dental provider can recommend the correct treatment to alleviate the pain. At Lasting Impressions Dental Spa, we will examine your gingival tissue, measure your pocket depth, and, in severe cases, take an X-ray to identify the cause of the painful gums and recommend the right treatment. Call us today at 818-751-5100 for a no-obligation consultation in Encino, CA.
