what does it mean when your gums start swelling?
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What causes inflamed gums? If you have swollen, inflamed gums, you know they can lead to serious discomfort. The most common cause of inflammation is gum disease, but improper brushing or flossing, tobacco use, chemotherapy, hormone changes, and irritation from dental hardware can also play a role.
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Sometimes tender and sore gums are simply a sign that you brush your teeth too hard. Other times your gums might hurt if they're irritated from braces or dentures. If you're a woman, hormone changes related to your period, pregnancy, or menopause can also cause your gums to become swollen and painful.
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Outlook. Gingival hyperplasia is an oral condition that causes your gums to overgrow. In more severe cases, your gums can completely cover your teeth, making it difficult to maintain effective oral hygiene habits. Improved oral hygiene can often resolve this condition and improve symptoms.
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If you experience painful gums when you eat, drink, brush, or floss, you may be wondering what's causing it and how you can treat it. Painful or bleeding gums can be caused by improper brushing or flossing techniques, gum disease, chemotherapy, tobacco use, or certain hormonal changes.
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A periodontal abscess is a pocket of pus in the tissues of the gum. It looks like a small red ball pushing out of the swollen gum. An abscess can occur with serious gum disease (periodontitis), which causes the gums to pull away from the teeth. This leaves deep pockets where bacteria can grow.
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Braces cause changes in your mouth. ... The swelling in your gums, when combined with your braces, can trap more food and make it even harder to brush and floss properly, leading to even more swelling. So, though swollen gums may look like gums growing over braces, they're not actually growing.
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It may be felt as a bump or hard or soft lump anywhere on the gums. An infection, such as a bacterial infection or localized abscess, can appear as a mass on the gums. Oral cancers (gum or mouth cancer) or tumors of the teeth or jaw are rarer causes of a mass on the gums.
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An abscess that develops on the gums is often referred to as a gum boil. They appear as swollen bumps on the gum. The main cause of a gum boil is bacteria — often from plaque, food particles, or tooth decay — that leads to infection beneath the surface of the gum.
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Bleeding gums may be a sign of poor dental hygiene. Gums become inflamed and bleed when there's a buildup of plaque along the gum line. Plaque is a sticky film containing bacteria that covers your teeth and gums. And if you don't brush or floss enough, the bacteria can spread and cause tooth decay or gum disease.
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Bleeding gums can be a sign of leukemia, a type of cancer. Your blood platelets help your body stop bleeding.
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Keep flossing gently and the bleeding typically stops within a week or two. If you don't make flossing a habit, and your gums become sore, swollen, and tender, it could bring about gum disease. The good news is that, unlike dental caries, gum disease can be reversed with improved oral hygiene.
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Gingivitis. Gingivitis is a bacterial infection of the gums. It's most often caused by poor brushing and flossing habits. As a result, your gums could turn white and recede.
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What if my filling hurts? It's normal to experience some sensitivity to heat, cold and pressure after your appointment. You can also expect some soreness in your gums for several days. Rinsing your mouth with warm salt water can help to alleviate discomfort and swelling.
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Gum Disease When people don't practice proper dental hygiene, bacteria in the mouth forms plaque on the teeth. These bacteria may cause your gums to become inflamed, which results in red, swollen, or bleeding gums. For many people with gingivitis, this inflammation is not painful.
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Many people actually have gingivitis or gum disease and they don't know it. Gingivitis is characterized by a color change in the gums. You may notice that your gums suddenly are brighter or darker red than the normal pink you are used to. When flossing, you may also notice that your gums bleed easily, or everywhere.
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Gingival hyperplasia is an oral condition that causes your gums to overgrow. In more severe cases, your gums can completely cover your teeth, making it difficult to maintain effective oral hygiene habits. Improved oral hygiene can often resolve this condition and improve symptoms.
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Bleeding gums can also occur when you're under a lot of stress and anxiety. Stress causes inflammation in the blood vessels, which breaks down the soft tissue of the mouth and makes your gums more susceptible to gum disease.