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Why do my gums bleed and what to do?

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
 
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When oral diseases develop, the patient is often bothered by symptoms such as swelling and bleeding gums. If the gums swell or bleed, this may be a sign of the development of diseases such as periodontitis, gingivitis or periodontosis.

Among gum diseases, periodontosis is the least common, the most common are gingivitis and periodontitis. If your gums bleed, this is a good reason to seek help from a dentist, since treatment should be started at the early stages of the disease, which will prevent its progression.

Why do gums bleed?

It is possible to find out why gums bleed only by conducting a comprehensive diagnosis, taking into account all the accompanying symptoms of the disease. These may include swelling and itching in the gums, the formation of periodontal pockets, the appearance of an unpleasant odor from the mouth, dental plaque, painful sensations in the gums when biting hard food. The reasons why gums bleed may include various systemic diseases of the body, infectious pathologies, the accumulation of microorganisms in the oral cavity due to improper care, poor-quality dental fillings, bite defects.

Why do gums bleed?

If oral hygiene standards are not met, tartar forms or other unfavorable factors influence gum diseases such as periodontitis, gingivitis, and periodontosis. These diseases may cause a number of similar symptoms - sore gums, swelling, redness, bleeding, bad breath, and plaque. You can find out why your gums bleed only by visiting your dentist and undergoing a full examination. If pathological pockets form on your gums and pus is released from them, then periodontitis is most likely developing. With periodontosis, periodontal pockets do not form, there are no obvious signs of inflammation, the gums become pale, and plaque accumulates on the teeth. With gingivitis, the gums become inflamed without damaging their integrity. However, if the disease is not treated, it can develop into periodontitis.

What diseases cause gums to bleed?

If traces of blood appear on your toothbrush, you should immediately pay attention to the condition of your gums and oral cavity and seek advice from a dental clinic. Undoubtedly, the first question that arises in this situation is: "What diseases cause gums to bleed?" There are several gum diseases that can cause gums to bleed. These are primarily gingivitis, periodontitis or periodontosis. The inflammatory process that develops with gingivitis under the influence of bacteria accumulated in the oral cavity can lead not only to bleeding gums, but also to their soreness, swelling, and the appearance of an unpleasant odor from the mouth. With periodontitis, depending on the stage of the disease, periodontal pockets from small to very large sizes are formed, pus is released from the gums, and in an advanced form, teeth begin to loosen, which subsequently leads to their loss. Therefore, it is extremely important to begin treating gums at the first sign of disease development: bleeding, change in color and shape of gums, formation of plaque.

When do gums bleed a lot?

If your gums bleed profusely, making it very difficult to brush your teeth or chew food, you should immediately seek help from a dentist before the inflammatory process becomes more severe and leads to loosening and loss of teeth.

Severe bleeding of the gums is typical for such diseases as gingivitis or periodontitis. With catarrhal gingivitis, the patient's taste sensations are impaired, the gums itch and become inflamed, and bleeding is noted. During an exacerbation of the disease, the pain becomes more intense when brushing teeth or when exposed to other external factors. With catarrhal gingivitis, the general well-being is usually not impaired, but in the acute phase of the disease, weakness may occur, and a temperature reaction is observed. As a rule, this form of gingivitis occurs when teeth begin to erupt or change to permanent ones. With chronic catarrhal gingivitis, the symptoms of the disease are dulled, the inflammatory process decreases. Ulcerative gingivitis can develop as a complication of acute catarrhal gingivitis. The first symptoms of this form of the disease include hyperemia, itching and swelling of the gums, the presence of ulcers on the gums and their bleeding, which occurs even with very careful brushing of teeth or biting hard food. In any case, severe bleeding of the gums requires an immediate visit to the doctor and urgent treatment.

When the gums are swollen and bleeding?

A situation where the gums are swollen and bleeding indicates the development of an inflammatory process and the occurrence of gum diseases such as gingivitis or periodontitis.

To prevent gum disease, you should strictly follow oral hygiene standards, regularly brush your teeth with a therapeutic and prophylactic toothpaste (the duration of use is indicated on the package). The procedure for brushing your teeth should take at least two minutes at least twice a day - in the morning and before bed. After each meal, it is recommended to treat the oral cavity with a mouthwash or, if this is not possible, with salted warm water. Rinse the oral cavity for one to two minutes. To remove food remaining between the teeth, you can use dental floss.

When does gum bleed between teeth?

If the gums between the teeth bleed, this may be due to either mechanical damage caused by careless movements during brushing, or the onset of an inflammatory process in the gums. In the first case, you should use a toothbrush with soft bristles, avoid eating hard foods such as apples, carrots, etc. for some time. If the cause of bleeding is an inflammatory process, you should seek help from a dentist. The most common cause of bleeding gums is gingivitis, which develops as a result of plaque accumulation and the proliferation of microorganisms in the oral cavity. Periodontitis may also be the cause of bleeding gums between the teeth. In this case, traces of blood appear not only during brushing, but also spontaneously, accompanied by swelling and soreness of the gums. Poor hygiene, eating large amounts of sweets, and abusing nicotine can contribute to the growth of bacteria in the oral cavity.

When do gums bleed at night?

If the gums bleed at night during the development of the inflammatory process in the oral cavity, this may indicate the development of periodontitis. This disease has several stages. At the initial stages, in addition to bleeding gums, weakening of the dental ligaments, the appearance of plaque on the teeth, and the release of viscous saliva are noted. As the disease progresses or worsens, the symptoms intensify, accompanied by the formation of pathological periodontal pockets, the release of pus from them, and loosening of the teeth. Fistulas and painful swellings may appear on the gums, and pain may also occur in the submandibular lymph nodes.

When do gums bleed when brushing teeth?

In cases where gums bleed when brushing teeth, there may be mechanical trauma to them from the toothbrush. The reason for this may be too hard bristles or careless sharp movements and, as a result, trauma to the gums.

When choosing a toothbrush, it should be taken into account that bristles made of natural materials contribute to the proliferation of microorganisms to a greater extent than artificial ones, which in turn can also have a negative impact on the condition of the gums, especially if signs of inflammation have appeared. When gums bleed when brushing teeth, you should also pay attention to the hardness of the toothbrush. If you use a brush with hard bristles, it makes sense to change it to a softer one. Brushes of medium hardness are considered the best option. They sufficiently clean the spaces between the teeth and the gingival groove from plaque and remaining pieces of food. In case of gum disease, brushes with soft bristles are recommended for use. The service life of a toothbrush is approximately three months, after which it must be replaced with a new one.

Bleeding Gums After Quitting Smoking

There is no doubt that if you have such a bad habit as smoking, your teeth and gums also suffer its negative effects. Their color changes, plaque appears, and your breath loses its freshness. However, it also happens that a person quit smoking and only then has gum problems. This can be caused by changes in the circulatory system, since this system can function with certain differences in smokers and non-smoking people. The initial cause that predisposes to the development of an inflammatory process in the gums can be nicotine addiction itself. So, if you quit smoking and your gums started bleeding, you must first take the necessary measures. These include the use of herbal decoctions for rinsing the mouth (chamomile, St. John's wort, oak bark, etc.), medicinal preparations for rinsing (stomatidin, givalex), therapeutic and prophylactic toothpaste (lacalut, sensodine), excluding hot or very cold food and water from the diet. If the signs of inflammation do not decrease, a qualified specialist will help solve the problem.

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Why do gums bleed after tooth extraction?

If the gums bleed after tooth extraction, this may be due to natural causes associated with the surgical procedure. The gums may bleed for several hours after tooth extraction. In the first few hours after the tooth extraction procedure, the patient is advised to refrain from eating food, and the damaged area should not be rinsed. Otherwise, inflammation of the tooth socket may develop.

If bleeding from the gums does not occur immediately, but after some time has passed after the tooth extraction, this may indicate reduced blood clotting or may be provoked by taking medications. To neutralize moderate bleeding, a sterile gauze swab is applied to the gum area for twenty to thirty minutes.

The development of intense bleeding that does not stop within a few hours may be caused by damage to a vessel during tooth extraction and requires a doctor's examination. To reduce swelling and stop bleeding, ice can be applied to the facial area on the affected side.

High blood pressure can also cause severe bleeding from the gums. To prevent this, patients who are prone to high blood pressure may be given sedatives before the tooth extraction procedure.

Why do gums bleed during pregnancy?

It is not uncommon for gums to bleed during pregnancy. This may be due, first of all, to hormonal changes in the woman's body that occur during this period. In such cases, bleeding usually disappears after childbirth. However, such symptoms are not always associated only with hormonal changes in the body. Often, the cause of bleeding gums during pregnancy is a disease such as gingivitis. Its main symptoms include swelling and redness of the gums, their soreness and increased sensitivity. Plaque accumulates on the teeth, an unpleasant odor appears from the mouth, and difficulties arise when chewing food.

Any symptoms of gum disease should not be ignored, since at an advanced stage the effectiveness of treatment is much lower than when the first signs of the disease appear. Treatment of gingivitis during pregnancy is aimed at relieving inflammation and neutralizing plaque. In order to minimize the negative consequences, treatment should be started immediately, even with minor bleeding of the gums or their swelling. When planning a pregnancy, it is recommended to undergo a comprehensive examination by a dentist and take the necessary preventive measures to prevent the development of the disease in the future.

Why do my child's gums bleed?

If a child's gums are bleeding, this may be due to a number of reasons, including the following:

  • Teething. During this process, growing teeth can put pressure on the gums, causing them to bleed;
  • Lack of vitamins in the child's body;
  • Decreased body defenses;
  • Poor dental and gum care, plaque accumulation;
  • Infectious diseases or pathologies of a different nature.

The influence of such unfavorable factors leads to the development of an inflammatory process in the gums and their bleeding. The most common gum disease in children is gingivitis. With the development of an acute process, gum pain is noted, an unpleasant odor is felt from the mouth, the gums begin to bleed, become swollen and reddened, and deposits form on the teeth. Among the various types of the disease, catarrhal gingivitis is most common.

When treating gingivitis in children, as part of complex therapy, it is recommended to avoid drinking hot or very cold food and water. To strengthen the body, vitamin and mineral complexes and a balanced diet are prescribed. Local treatment includes treating the oral cavity with antiseptic solutions. When visiting a dentist, professional teeth cleaning and plaque removal are performed. To prevent the development of gingivitis, you should adhere to oral care standards, brush your teeth twice a day for at least two to three minutes. You should also carefully approach the choice of a toothbrush in order to exclude mechanical injury to the gums with too hard bristles. If your child's gums start to bleed, you should seek help from a pediatric dentist.

What to do if your gums are bleeding?

When an inflammatory process develops in the gums, they become swollen and reddened, begin to hurt and bleed. If you have such symptoms, first of all, you should find out what to do if your gums bleed and how to reduce the inflammatory process. The main causes of the development of an inflammatory process in the gums include gum diseases such as periodontitis or gingivitis.

For successful treatment, you should seek help from a dentist at the first signs of the development of the inflammatory process. To relieve bleeding gums, antiseptic treatment of the oral cavity and dental cleaning of teeth are carried out. Then the patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs, lotions on the gum area and rinses, and the use of therapeutic and prophylactic toothpaste. Complex treatment is prescribed depending on the causes that provoked the development of inflammation.

How to treat bleeding gums?

Only a qualified specialist can give a competent answer to the question of how to treat bleeding gums, based on the reasons that caused such a phenomenon as bleeding gums.

In most cases, bleeding gums are associated with the development of an inflammatory process and are accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms, such as swelling and pain in the gums, bad breath, plaque or tartar on the teeth. Most often, gingivitis provokes the appearance of such symptoms. In this disease, a solution of givalex can be used to rinse the mouth. Before rinsing, a certain amount of water is added to ten milliliters of the drug and the mark on the measuring container is brought to fifty milliliters. Or two teaspoons of the drug are dissolved in ¼ glass of water at a temperature of about thirty-five degrees. When rinsing, avoid getting the drug inside. The number of rinses per day can be from two to four times. Children under six years of age are prescribed a different scheme for using the drug. As a rule, treatment with givalex lasts five days. You cannot prescribe the drug to yourself; if negative reactions occur, use of the drug should be discontinued.

Folk remedies for bleeding gums

If gums bleed, folk remedies can be used as an auxiliary method of treatment to relieve the inflammatory process. One of the most widely used folk remedies for rinsing with bleeding gums is oak bark. To prepare a decoction, three to four teaspoons of oak bark are poured with 200-250 ml of water and brought to a boil. After the decoction has cooled to room temperature, it can be used to rinse the gums several times a day. A positive effect is usually noted after ten to fourteen days.

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Vitamins for bleeding gums

When gums bleed, vitamins and minerals significantly contribute to improving their condition. A lack of vitamins A, B, C and E in the body during the development of an inflammatory process in the oral cavity can lead to gums becoming loose, weak, and acquiring an unnatural shade. Therefore, in case of gum diseases, vitamin therapy should be part of a comprehensive treatment.

What should I rinse with if my gums are bleeding?

When the first signs of inflammation in the oral cavity appear, do not delay a visit to the doctor, at an early stage the process and result of treatment will be much faster and higher than in an advanced form of the disease. What you need to know first of all when your gums bleed: what to rinse with, what toothpaste to use and how to properly care for your teeth and gums during this period. At the first signs of bleeding gums, you can use oak bark for rinsing. It has a powerful astringent effect and has a beneficial effect on the condition of the gums when they bleed. Pharmacy drugs used for rinsing for gum disease include givalex, stomatidin, stomatofit, angilex, etc.

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