Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThere are several ways to treat gingivitis, including:
- A thorough dental cleaning
- Antiseptic mouth rinse
- Brushing
- Flossing
- Fixing dental restorations, if necessary
Gingivitis treatment usually starts by thoroughly cleaning your teeth. This includes removing all traces of plaque and tartar — a procedure known as scaling. The cleaning may be uncomfortable, especially if your gums are already sensitive or you have extensive plaque and tartar buildup. Your dentist may also recommend using an antiseptic mouth rinse to clear away bacteria. Your dentist will also review brushing and flossing techniques to make sure you're doing these effectively.
Misaligned teeth and poorly fitting crowns, bridges or other dental restorations make it harder to remove plaque. If any of these is contributing to your gingivitis, your dentist may recommend fixing these problems as well.
Gingivitis usually clears up after a professional cleaning — as long as you continue to follow a program of good oral hygiene at home. If you're consistent with your dental hygiene, you should see the return of pink, healthy gum tissue within days or weeks. You'll need to practice good oral hygiene for life, however, so your gum problems don't return.
- What is gingivitis? American Academy of Periodontology. http://www.perio.org/consumer/gingivitis.htm. Accessed Oct. 17, 2008.
- Nguyen HD, et al. Common dental infections in the primary care setting. American Family Physician. 2008;77:797.
- Wilder RS, et al. Gingivitis and periodontitis in adults: Classification and dental treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 10, 2008.
- Gingivitis. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec08/ch095/ch095c.html. Accessed Oct. 17, 2008.
- The use and handling of toothbrushes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/OralHealth/infectioncontrol/factsheets/toothbrushes.htm. Accessed Oct. 17, 2008.
- Cleaning your teeth and gums (oral hygiene). American Dental Association. http://www.ada.org/public/topics/cleaning_faq.asp. Accessed Oct. 23, 2008.
- Assad DA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., Oct. 19, 2008.
