Your 32 adult teeth are held in place in that mouth of yours by your gums and bones, that is, if you are “normal.” About a third of us simply have “bad” DNA where we are just plain susceptible to gum disease. We do have our permanent teeth by age 13 or so, and there is incidence data that suggests that many of us as children have infections at the gum level. By the time you and I reach age 30, we may find that we are in the half of us in this age group who have chronic gum problems, aka the dreaded “periodontal disease.” (“Periodontal” is the word that identifies the tissues around each tooth that mount that tooth firmly, allowing normal chewing to occur.) By the time we reach 65, seven out of ten of us will have the gum disease problem.

Compounding our genetic predisposition for the problem is poverty, limited education, or use of tobacco products. No wonder two-thirds of us will suffer the malady. “Gingivitis” is considered the milder form of periodontal disease, but gum irritation and resulting inflammation can lead to a mouth with few teeth. None of us want that.

Everything about Gingivitis (Gum Disease)

Signs and Symptoms

Gingivitis is a specific form of periodontal disease. Physically, with gingivitis our gums will look red when we look in our mirror to examine the point of irritation. Our gums may appear swollen and be tender. But there is a lot of variety with gum problems. You may actually be unaware of any problem. Gum irritation may be episodic and the symptoms actually absent much of the time.

But, these gum symptoms may be harbingers of “periodontitis,” gum disease so serious that teeth anchored by the gum will loosen and be lost. The gums essentially will fail to hold a tooth in place or inflammation of the gum tissue will result in abscess within the gum or bone structures below. The old-fashioned term, “trench mouth,” is pretty descriptive of the painful bacterial infection involving ulcers of the gums.

Causes

We know that bacteria surround us and are inside of us. Many bacteria have a symbiotic relationship with us. We benefit these little critters and they benefit us. We are familiar with the concept of “probiotics” because of popular yogurt advertising activities in recent years, but our basic understanding is that we need the “good” bacteria inside of us to be healthy. Our mouths are a special case. We have many bacteria in our mouths. They are part of the sticky layer of food particles and mucus that coats our teeth.

Unfortunately, that layer may convert to a hard layer overlaying our teeth, particularly if we fail to remove it by brushing for a couple days. We call it “plaque” or “tartar.” It needs to be removed because that toothbrush of yours is unable to unfasten this tooth coating. If we allow this plaque process to continue without removal over time, our bone and gums become eroded and compromised, our gums recede, and there go our teeth. Thankfully, our dentist or dental hygienist can remove the plaque, and lessen the impact of this erosion process.

An Unnatural Process

Plaque and tartar are initially not harmful. As their layers become thicker and pervasive, erosion of gum begins. Bacteria penetrate the top gum layer at the point of erosion near the individual teeth. The deeper tissues in the gum become inflamed, marking the beginning of that infection process we call gingivitis. The gum tissues may begin to weep and bleed with any irritation. Halitosis may be a concomitant symptom. At this point our gums become uncomfortable, itching or hurting or burning in response to the swelling that accompanies gum deterioration. As the condition continues, there is accompanying tooth and tissue loss in the gum.

Other Variables

Many of us are on medications or have experienced changes in our metabolic balance that potentially can reduce the amount of saliva in our mouths. When our mouths are dry, we actually are more open to gum disease. You may want to consider normalizing your mouth’s saliva to overcome your mouth’s dryness if you are on one of these medications or if you have had changes in your metabolism. Medications can bring changes to gum tissues. You will want to talk with your medical provider if you are aware of oral changes after commencing a new medication. Changes in metabolic state can come from medications, but if you’ve become positive for diabetes or other metabolic disorder as a natural part of aging in your family, you will want to monitor for gum disease. Catch any oral changes before gingivitis “steps” into your open mouth.

Prevention

Your dental hygienist did get it right. You’ve got to minimize that plaque development. Your dentist and support staff do not schedule you for a tooth cleaning just to pad their pocketbooks. That plaque can be minimized by regular brushing and flossing of those pearly whites, but those oral microbes are relentless. You keep eating. They keep working those food particles over, so that the bacterial film always continues developing. Plaque and tartar are the result.

Dental tools are the only way to get that stubborn material off your teeth and away from your gums. So, brush and floss the teeth, visit your dental resource for regular gum (and tooth) care. But you ask, “Isn’t there anything else I can do? What can I do to be in the 30% without gum problems when I am in my 70s?”

How to Get Rid of Gingivitis?

Strategy

You understand the basic process behind the problem. We are not talking about tooth decay here. We are talking about gum health and minimizing problematic microbes that increase the odds of developing gingivitis. We want to maximize those “good” bacteria in our mouths. We want to get as close as we can to eliminating plaque if possible. So, what can we do?

Brushing and Flossing with a Purpose

Antibacterial toothpastes have a place, but one has to thoroughly brush those teeth daily. Use a fluoride toothpaste to re-mineralize your teeth. You may want to add an antibacterial mouthwash to supplement your brushing, but use it sometime after brushing so you don’t lose the fluoride effects on your teeth. Use of dental floss before brushing will loosen and minimize dental debris residing between your teeth and reduce the habitat for bacteria growing in that area.

Diet Alteration

Sugars (and starches easily converted to sugars) enhance oral acidity and encourage the microbial environment in the mouth. Add fruits and veggies to your diet—“raw” will give you more of those antioxidants we all talk about. Altering the diet to eliminate or minimize sugars and reducing acidic levels in the mouth will help keep your gums healthy.

Problematic Teeth

Tooth anomalies, wisdom teeth, irregular tooth restorations, etc. may allow debris to collect between tooth and gum, thus generating that plaque with its sequellae and gum disease. Talk to your dentist about recurring plaque and tender gum problems relating to problem teeth. You can be proactive in reducing further gum deterioration.

Salt or Baking Soda Rinses

Microbes do not like table salt and they do not tolerate baking soda. Sloshing salt around in your mouth or brushing your teeth with baking soda gives those little buggers a bath in discomfort. Both salt and baking soda change the pH in the mouth and alter the bacteria habitat, reducing the numbers of microbes. On top of that, if you have aches, itches, bleeding, or whatever going on in those gums, salt will sooth those gum surfaces and reduce gum swelling.

Put half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water and rinse your mouth several times a day. You can take a teaspoon of salt and one of baking soda in a cup of water, and use that as a daily rinse after brushing. Rinse your mouth after using the concoction. If you want to brush with baking soda, use a half teaspoon of baking soda in a paste and brush your teeth with the mixture every three days or so and then rinse the mouth afterwards. Some people put a layer of salt or salt paste on the gums, and then rinse with water after several minutes daily. You get the idea.

Kitchen Oils

Coconut and sesame oil have been used to reduce oral infections and whiten teeth. A couple tablespoons of coconut or sesame oil are added to a couple cups of warm water. A mouthful is taken and sloshed around for a couple minutes—no swallowing. The concoction (that is now loaded with microbes and food debris) is spit out and the mouth is washed out with warm water for a couple minutes and then followed by brushing of the teeth. The aim is to develop this rinsing activity for perhaps up to 15 minutes each day before brushing in the morning.

Herbals

A variety of herbals (aloe vera, clove, Echinacea, goldenseal, guava, lemon, myrrh, neem, Oregon grape root, peppermint, plantain, propolis, sage, tea tree, tumeric, white oak bark, etc.) have been utilized for gingivitis.

Aloe vera reduces inflammation and plaque. Break the aloe vera leaf and collect the gel. Apply the gel to the affected gum area. Rinse your mouth afterwards if you wish.

Cloves reduce infection and swelling. You can chew a clove daily or apply clove oil to the affected gum area daily.

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial guava leaves are “loaded” with anti-plaque guaijaverin. Clean those leaves and chew them or crush them and apply the paste to the problem gum areas. Or, take a half dozen leaves and boil down a couple cups of boiling water to make a cup of mouthwash. Use the “tea” as a mouth wash several times a day.

Sage can be boiled for ten minutes, strained, and used as a mouth wash several times a day in a similar manner.

You can juice a lemon and make a vitamin C loaded anti-inflammatory mouth wash. Try it after brushing the pearlies in the morning.

Peppermint leaves can be used the same way. Be wary of using tea tree oil, even though it has been found to be effective for a variety of infections. Toxic tea tree oil must not be swallowed. Its strength requires that the tea tree oil be diluted, perhaps a couple of drops to your daily tooth paste, but be sure to spit it all out!

Antioxidant tumeric can be used to make a powder to be applied to your gums several times a day. Mix 4 teaspoons of turmeric, 8 of neem powder, and a quarter teaspoon each of alum powder and salt and keep away from air exposure until ready to use.

Gingivitis is a common problem, more so as we grow older, but you can deal with it. Apply all that advice that your dentist and dental hygienist give you. We’ve given you some folk remedies here that you might want to try. Please start with household and herbal products that you know. There are some more exotic things out there, but be safe. If you have allergies, know what you can use. When in doubt, talk it over with someone in the know, face to face. This, you see, is a dialogue. What have you found to be effective for pain and for healing of your gum problems and what just has not worked?

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