Gingivitis ("inflammation of the gum tissue") is a term used to describe non-destructive periodontal disease. The most common form of gingivitis is in response to bacterial biofilms (also called plaque) adherent to tooth surfaces, termed plaque-induced gingivitis, and is the most common form of periodontal disease. In the absence of treatment, gingivitis may progress to periodontitis, which is a destructive form of periodontal disease.
While in some sites or individuals, gingivitis never progresses to periodontitis, data indicate that periodontitis is always preceded by gingivitis
The symptoms of gingivitis are somewhat non-specific and manifest in the gum tissue as the classic signs of inflammation:
Swollen gums
Bright red or purple gums
Gums that are tender or painful to the touch
Bleeding gums or bleeding after brushing
Additionally, the stippling that normally exists on the gum tissue of some individuals will often disappear and the gums may appear shiny when the gum tissue becomes swollen and stretched over the inflamed underlying connective tissue. The accumulation may also emit an unpleasant odor. When the gingiva are swollen, the epithelial lining of the gingival crevice becomes ulcerated and the gums will bleed more easily with even gentle brushing, and especially when flossing.
Chemicals commonly used to treat heartburn also display fighting power against the oral bacteria linked with gum disease, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Goteborg University in Sweden.
A study published in November's
Archives of Oral Biology
explores how the active ingredients in popular antacids could help fend off gingivitis. If the work holds up in subsequent studies in people, the compounds could one day find themselves widely available in oral care products like toothpaste and mouthwashes.
"The American diet and the constant drip of sugar allows little time for the natural repair of teeth. All day, it's a cycle of acidic erosion and repair - or at least, it should be - but our constant sucking on hard candy and guzzling sodas with high fructose syrups leaves little time for repair," said Robert Marquis, Ph.D., of the University of Rochester Medical Center. Marquis, an internationally recognized expert on the bacteria that inhabit our mouths, is the study's lead author.
Since gingivitis can be a preamble for periodontal disease - an oral inflammation so persistent that it destroys the bone where the teeth anchor, causing them to fall out - researchers at the University of Rochester and a University in Sweden decided to focus on Fusobacterium nucleatum, an especially hardy bacterial troublemaker that plays a crucial role in setting the stage for gum disease.
When it's not secreting irritating chemicals itself, F. nucleatum acts as a binding site for other dangerous oral bacteria that cannot directly attach to tooth surfaces on their own. These bacteria, dubbed "secondary colonizers," rely on the help of F. nucleatum, which serves almost like an aircraft landing strip atop an aircraft carrier, allowing planes (or in this case, bacteria) to set down. With the help of F.nucleatum, these dangerous bacteria now have a place to "land" and create the damage that causes periodontal disease and tooth decay.
