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The gum hurts: what to do?

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
 
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How to distinguish the pain of the tooth from the pain caused by the inflammation of the gums, especially since the gum is often very painful, grabbing the entire jaw? In order to independently differentiate a painful condition and choose ways to neutralize pain, you need to know what causes pain in the gums may occur.

Causes of the pain in the gums

  • Gingivitis is the main cause, which occurs in 90% of the clinical cases of the inflammatory process of the gums. Gingivitis is a harbinger of another gum problem - periodontitis. The disease has its own causes, among which the most common is poor or irregular care for teeth and the mouth as a whole. Often bacterial plaque accumulating in hard-to-reach mucous parts of the gums, after three days becomes a dental stone, and the stone can no longer be cleaned with a toothbrush. Also, the cause of gingivitis may be a change in the hormonal background during pregnancy, pubertal period. In addition, uncontrolled intake of certain medications can cause gingival tissue hyperplasia. Among the causes of gingivitis can be avitaminosis (vitamin C - scurvy), herpes. Symptoms of gingivitis are characteristic - bleeding, swelling of the gums, which slightly lag behind the teeth. Pain in the beginning of the process is almost never, however, gingivitis of herpetic etiology is often accompanied by sensitivity of the gums, their erosiveness and pain. 
  • Periodontitis. This is a chronic inflammatory process that affects everything that surrounds the tooth, it is no accident that the name of the disease has Greek roots: παρα- around, around, ὀδούς - means tooth. The cause of periodontitis has a natural explanation - bacteria that constantly get into the mouth and live there, multiplying and destroying everything that is around. The cause of periodontitis is irregular dental care or its complete absence, caries, weakened immune system. Symptoms are very characteristic - the gum begins to become inflamed, swells, and lags behind teeth. Then you feel that the gum hurts when exposed to cold or very hot substances (food and water). 
  • Cyst. This phenomenon is dangerous for its asymptomatic, gum at first slightly inflamed, but it does not hurt. Many people either do not pay attention to this sign, or try to correct the situation with the help of therapeutic toothpastes. The symptom subsides, but the process simply "hides" deeper to such an extent that a dense small nodule is formed on the site of the primary inflammation - a granuloma, and then a cavity filled with bacteria and products of their vital activity, that is, a cyst. The cyst grows and begins to damage the tissues of the roots. Cyst is rarely accompanied by acute pain, cystic formations are characterized by an increase in body temperature, periodic weak, aching gum pain. The cause of cystogranuloma is most often the infection of the gums, less often - trauma and a common infectious disease. 
  • Stomatitis, its various types - catarrhal, ulcerative, aphthous. This inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth, which rarely arise as an independent disease. Most often, stomatitis is accompanied by candidiasis, scarlet fever and other serious illnesses. Stomatitis is a common name that combines glossitis (inflammation of the tongue), gingivitis (inflammation in the gums). Symptoms of stomatitis are identical to the signs of periodontal disease and gingivitis, the difference is white coating on mucous or tongue, with ulcerative stomatitis - erosive tissue damage. 
  • Skole, which can be the result of a stroke or injury. Part of the tooth can split when chewing solid food - nuts, bones. Recently, the cleavage is a consequence of caries, which destroys not only the tooth, but also the gum. Quite often, avitaminosis, especially calcium deficiency in the body leads to the fact that some of the teeth begin to crumble in the literal sense of the word. The discolored tooth, when it comes into contact with other teeth, involuntarily starts to damage the gum, the infection can get into the wound, and, hence, the inflammatory process begins. 
  • The gum often hurts after the removal of the aching tooth. These painful sensations are quite natural and transitory. If the gum hurts for five days, you should consult your dentist to find out the true cause of the discomfort. 
  • Prosthetics. It happens that the prosthesis, implants are picked up unsuccessfully and injure the gum. Even if the pain is not acute, tolerable, do not wait for the inflammatory process in the gums. It is necessary to consult a doctor again to adjust the prosthesis.

trusted-source[1], [2], [3], [4]

Where does it hurt?

What's bothering you?

Treatment of the pain in the gums

If you have recently had a prosthetic repair, then, most likely, you need to contact a doctor again to fix the dentures, adjust them so that the gum is not injured or hurt. 

If you have a gum pain after applying a certain toothpaste, which you decided to try for the first time, you just need to change it to a more conventional or curative, designed to prevent periodontal disease (Lakalut, Parodontax). 

If your gums are sore and swollen, this may indicate the formation of the flux, the pain becomes extensive, spreading over the jaw, you should immediately go to the dental clinic. Any delay is fraught with acute inflammation of the periosteum up to the phlegmon (purulent inflammation, spreading through the body, sometimes to the neck and below). 

If you have a gum pain very much, and the opportunity to visit a doctor in the next 24 hours, you can take an anesthetic drug - ketones, analgin, paracetamol. You can also rinse the mouth with a solution of Chlorhexidine. 

If the cause of the pain in the gums is a chipped tooth, it is necessary to plan a visit to the doctor in the near future in order to restore not only the health of the gums, but also the beauty of your smile.

What can not be done when the gum hurts: 

  • Do not heat up the gum, apply hot rinses; 
  • You can not open the abscess (flux) by yourself; 
  • You can not tolerate pain more than three days (after tooth extraction - a maximum of five days); 
  • You can not try to fit the prosthesis yourself.

How to treat if the gum hurts?

Of course, the best thing you can do is visit the dentist soon. It is the doctor who can choose the right toothpaste, a remedy for removing the first manifestations of gum disease. While the process has not developed to the pathological stage, it can be neutralized by regular brushing of teeth with the help of specialized means and rinses.

If the inflammation is in the development stage, the doctor will determine the root cause, and, possibly, clean the infected canals, remove plaque and stones, put a new seal, undermine the prosthesis, and, in short, eliminate foci of trauma and infection.

If the pain in the gums indicates an acute phase of inflammation, it is possible and surgical treatment.

If you have a gum, you should understand that this symptom is not only unpleasant, but also alarming, which indicates the beginning of the infectious process and can affect not only the oral cavity, but also other vital organs, such as the heart. According to statistics, about 15% of the pathologies of the cardiovascular system are associated with a poor state of the teeth, which are the source of bacterial infection, with a blood flow penetrating the cardiac muscle. Therefore, if there are any signs of gum disease and gum disease, you should visit a doctor immediately to prevent the disease at an early stage.

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