Gingivitis vs Periodontitis: Catching Gum Disease Before It Costs You Teeth

Most people find out about gum disease at a cleaning. The hygienist calls out numbers, and one of them is higher than it was last time. That is usually the first sign anything is wrong.

Gum disease comes in two stages. One is reversible. One is not. Knowing which one you have changes what happens next, and it changes how much you keep of your own teeth.

The short version

Gingivitis is gum inflammation. Your gums are red, puffy, and they bleed when you brush. The bone under them is still fine. Clean the gums well and the inflammation goes away. Your gums go back to normal.

Periodontitis is what happens when gingivitis keeps going. The infection moves under the gum line. It starts eating the bone that holds your teeth in place. That bone does not grow back on its own.

Here is the part patients hate to hear. Bone loss is permanent. We can stop it. We cannot undo it.

How to tell them apart

You cannot always tell at home. But there are signals.

• Bleeding when you brush or floss. Common in both. Gums are not supposed to bleed.
• Gums that look puffy or dark red. Usually gingivitis if it stops there.
• Bad breath that will not go away. Leans toward periodontitis.
• Teeth that look longer than they used to. That is gum recession. Later stage.
• A tooth that feels loose or has shifted. That is bone loss. Call us.
• Pus or a bad taste near the gum line. Active infection. Do not wait on this one.

The real test is a measurement. We use a small probe to check the space between your gum and your tooth. Healthy pockets are shallow. Deeper pockets mean the attachment is breaking down. We pair that with X-rays, and the X-rays show whether bone is missing. Numbers and pictures. That is how we know which stage you are in.

What we see around here

Las Vegas is hard on gums in one specific way. The air is dry. Really dry. A lot of our patients in Spring Valley and Rhodes Ranch sleep with the air conditioning running from May through September, and they wake up with a mouth like sandpaper.

Saliva is your mouth’s rinse cycle. It washes away bacteria. When you are dry all night, that rinse cycle slows down, and bacteria sit against your gum line for hours. Add allergy medication or blood pressure medication, and it gets drier still.

This does not cause gum disease by itself. Plaque does that. But dryness makes an existing problem worse, faster. It is one of the reasons we ask about your medications and your water intake at every visit.

If you ask what we would do in our own homes: drink more water than you think you need, and keep a glass by the bed.

Treatment, plainly

For gingivitis. A regular cleaning and better habits at home. Brushing twice a day. Actual flossing, not the once a week kind. Most people see their gums stop bleeding within a couple of weeks. That is it. No surgery, no big production.

For periodontitis. We start with a deep cleaning, called scaling and root planing. We clean the root surfaces below the gum line where a normal cleaning cannot reach. It usually takes two visits. You go numb, so it is comfortable.

After that you move to more frequent cleanings, often every three or four months instead of every six. That is maintenance, and it is the whole ballgame. Patients who keep those appointments hold onto their teeth. Patients who skip them lose ground.

More detail on the stages and the visit itself lives on our gum disease treatment page.

When a tooth is already gone

Sometimes people come to our office on South Fort Apache after a tooth has already been lost. That is not a lecture moment. We just deal with what is in front of us.

We use cone beam CT imaging to look at how much bone is left in that spot, which tells us what options are realistic. Dental implants are one path. Whatever we recommend, the gum infection gets handled first. Building on unhealthy gums does not work.

About cost

We give you a written treatment plan with costs before anything starts. No surprises at checkout.

We file insurance claims and verify your benefits for you. If you do not have insurance, ask about the Desert Hills Dental Complete plan, which is a flat membership covering exams, cleanings, and X-rays plus a discount on other work. CareCredit and Cherry financing are both available. And treatment can be phased over months if that is what makes it doable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can gingivitis turn into periodontitis quickly?

It varies a lot from person to person. Some people sit with gingivitis for years and never progress. Others move faster, especially if they smoke, have diabetes, or have a family history of gum disease. There is no set timeline. That is exactly why we measure your pockets at every checkup instead of guessing. Catching the shift early is the whole point.

Does a deep cleaning hurt?

We numb the area first, so you should not feel pain during the appointment. Most patients say it feels like a long cleaning. Afterward your gums may be tender for a day or two and your teeth might be sensitive to cold for a short while. Over the counter pain relief usually handles it. We split the mouth into two visits to keep each one manageable.

Will my gums grow back after periodontitis?

Gum tissue that has receded does not grow back on its own, and lost bone does not either. What treatment does is stop the loss and calm the infection. Your gums get firmer and stop bleeding, and pockets often get shallower as swelling goes down. Think of it as stopping the damage rather than reversing it. That is why acting early matters so much.

How often should I get my teeth cleaned in Las Vegas?

Every six months for most people with healthy gums. If you have been treated for periodontitis, we usually move you to every three or four months. The bacteria repopulate under the gum line on roughly that schedule. Dry desert air and low humidity do not change the interval, but they are a good reason to stay on top of hydration between visits.

Is bleeding when I floss normal?

No. Healthy gums do not bleed. If you have not flossed in a while, some bleeding for the first few days is common as inflamed tissue settles down. If it is still bleeding after two weeks of daily flossing, something needs to be looked at. Give our office a call and we will get you measured and checked.

If your gums bleed, look puffy, or a tooth feels loose, call us at (725) 307-5569 or request a visit through our contact page. We are open Monday through Thursday from 7am to 4pm and Friday mornings, and we see patients from Spring Valley, Summerlin, Enterprise, Southern Highlands, and across Southwest Las Vegas.