Gingivitis adalah penyakit gusi ringan yang menyebabkan peradangan gusi. Karena saking ringannya, seringkali Anda tak memperhatikan bahwa kesehatan gusi Anda bermasalah. Tapi penting untuk menangani gingivitis ini dengan serius karena kondisi ini akan memicu timbulnya penyakit gusi lainnya yang lebih parah.
Jika gusi Anda bengkak dan berdarah saat Anda menyikat gigi, ada kemungkinan Anda menderita gingivitis. Penyebab utama dari gingivitis ini adalah buruknya kesehatan mulut. Kebiasaan sehat, seperti menyikat gigi dua kali sehari, dapat mencegah terjadinya gingivitis.
Tanda-tanda dan gejala gingivitis meliputi:
• Gusi bengkak
• Gusi lunak
• Mudah terluka
• Gusi mudah berdarah ketika menyikat gigi
• Napas tak sedaph
• Perubahan warna gusi dari pink menjadi merah kehitaman
Karena jarang gingivitis terasa sakit, maka seringkali Anda tak sadar bila sudah menderita gingivitis. Pertama kali Anda seharusnya melihat ada yang salah jika bulu sikat gigi Anda terlihat warna pink. Itu artinya gusi Anda berdarah saat menyikat gigi meski dilakukan pelan-pelan.
Kapan ke dokter gigi
Gusi yang sehat adalah gusi yang kuat dan berwarna pink. Jika gusi Anda bengkak, berwarna merah tua dan mudah berdarah, segera pergi ke dokter gigi. Bila Anda segera menjalani perawatan di dokter gigi, ada peluang untuk mengatasi kerusakan akibat gingivitis dan mencegah munculnya penyakit yang lebih parah.
Penyebab:
Gingivitis hampir selalu diawali dengan terbentuknya plak (plaque), yaitu lapisan film tak berwarna yang terbentuk dari penumpukan bakteri pada gigi. Plak ini terbentuk di atas gigi saat bakteri dan gula dari makanan bertemu dengan bakteri di dalam mulut. Menyikat gigi dapat menghilangkan lapisan plak ini, tapi lapisan ini akan terbentuk lagi dalam waktu 24 jam.
Plak yang bersemayam di gigi lebih dari dua hingga tiga hari dapat mengeras di bawah garis gusi menjadi karang gigi (calculus). Karang gigi ini membuat plak lebih sulit dibersihkan dan akan menjadi sarang yang baik bagi bakteri. Untuk menghilangkan karang gigi tak bisa hanya dengan menyikat gigi, tapi butuh bantuan dokter gigi.
Semakin lama plak dan karang gigi menempel pada gigi, lapisan ini akan lebih mudah mengiritasi gingiva, bagian dari gusi yang berada di sekitar dasar gigi. Suatu saat gusi akan bengkak dan mudah berdarah.
Gingivitis yang tak dirawat dapat meningkat menjadi periodontitis, yaitu kondisi penyakit gusi yang lebih serius. Periodontitis dapat menyebabkan gigi tanggal dan bahkan dapat memicu serangan jantung dan stroke. Sementara bagi wanita yang hamil, periodontitis menyebabkan kemungkinan bayi lahir prematur.
Diagnosis gingivitis umumnya sederhana. Diagnosis didasarkan pada penggambaran gejala dan pengujian terhadap mulut dan lidah. Doker gigi akan mencari lapisan plak dan karang gigi dan bisa juga menguji gusi apakah mudah berdarah atau tidak.
Jika tak diketahui apa penyebab gingivitis, dokter gigi akan merekomendasikan untuk melakukan evaluasi medis untuk mengetahui secara pasti kondisinya.
Pencegahan:
Cara terbaik mencegah terjadinya gingivitis adalah melaksanakan program merawat gigi secara higienis, dan hal ini harus dilakukan sejak dini serta dipraktikkan secara konsisten sepanjang hidup Anda. Itu artinya Anda harus menyikat gigi dua kali sehari, yaitu pagi hari dan malam menjelang tidur, dan membersihkan lapisan plak sekali dalam sehari, karena lapisan ini terbentuk dalam waktu 24 jam. Lebih baik lagi jika menyikat gigi begitu selesai makan.
Selain itu, Anda harus rutin mengunjungi dokter gigi atau ahli kesehatan gigi, setidaknya setiap enam bulan atau setahun sekali, untuk melakukan pembersihan gigi. Tapi jika Anda punya faktor risiko yang dapat meningkatkan kemungkinan mengalami gingivitis, Anda harus lebih sering melakukan pembersihan gigi oleh ahli kesehatan gigi.
Kamis, 02 Juni 2011
Gingivitis
Gingivitis Overview
Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums surrounding the teeth. Gingivitis is one of many periodontal diseases that affect the health of the periodontium (those tissues that surround the teeth and include the gums, soft tissues, and bone).
Periodontal diseases are often classified according to their severity. They range from mild gingivitis, to more severe periodontitis, and finally acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, which can be life threatening.
# Bacteria can cause inflammation of the gums. Although bacteria are normally found in our bodies and provide protective effects most of the time, bacteria can be harmful. The mouth is a great place for bacteria to live. The warm, moist environment and constant food supply are everything bacteria need to thrive. If not for a healthy immune system, bacteria in the mouth would rapidly reproduce out of control, overwhelming the body's defense system.
# An infection begins when the body's immune system is overwhelmed. Gingivitis is an infection that occurs when bacteria invade soft tissues, bone, and other places that bacteria should not be. At the moment of infection, bacteria no longer help us, they begin to harm us. Infections, like other diseases, range from mild to severe or life threatening.
Gingivitis Causes
Gingivitis is considered to be a bacterial infection of the gums. The exact reason why gingivitis develops has not been proven, but several theories exist.
# For gingivitis to develop, plaque must accumulate in the areas between the teeth. This plaque contains large numbers of bacteria thought to be responsible for gingivitis. But it is not simply plaque that causes gingivitis. Almost everyone has plaque on their teeth, but only a few develop gingivitis.
# It is usually necessary for the person to have an underlying illness or take a particular medication that renders their immune system susceptible to gingivitis. For example, people with leukemia and Wegner disease have changes in the blood vessels of their gums that allow gingivitis to develop. Other people with diabetes, Addison disease, HIV, and other immune system diseases lack the ability to fight bacteria invading the gums.
# Sometimes hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy, puberty, and steroid therapy leave the gums vulnerable to bacterial infection.
# A number of medications used for seizures, high blood pressure, and organ transplants can suppress the immune system and change the structure of the gums enough to permit bacterial infection.
Gingivitis Symptoms
# Swelling, redness, pain, and bleeding of the gums are signs of gingivitis.
# The breath begins to take on a foul odor.
# The gums begin to lose their normal structure and color. The gums, which were once strong and pink, begin to recede and take on a beefy red, inflamed color.
# Inflammation-a complex system by which bacteria-fighting cells of the body are recruited to an area of bacterial infection-plays a major role in gingivitis. It is this inflammation of the gums that accounts for most of the symptoms of gingivitis.
# When bacteria first begin to invade the gums, proteins present in the saliva and soft tissues called antibodies coat the bacteria and weaken it, making it an easy target for the body's immune system. The cells that encounter the bacteria first attempt to kill it and, in the mean time, release chemicals into the bloodstream to call other cells to their aid.
# One particular cell called a macrophage is responsible for ingesting the bacteria and dissolving it with chemicals. This system works nicely, but it is not terribly efficient. While the invading bacteria are destroyed, chemicals used by the immune system cells to kill them are spilled into the surrounding tissues. This not only kills the bacteria but damages the nearby connective tissues and cells of the gums as well.
# The body sees this inflammation as a small price to pay for stopping the bacteria. This process will continue until the source of the infection is removed.
Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums surrounding the teeth. Gingivitis is one of many periodontal diseases that affect the health of the periodontium (those tissues that surround the teeth and include the gums, soft tissues, and bone).
Periodontal diseases are often classified according to their severity. They range from mild gingivitis, to more severe periodontitis, and finally acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, which can be life threatening.
# Bacteria can cause inflammation of the gums. Although bacteria are normally found in our bodies and provide protective effects most of the time, bacteria can be harmful. The mouth is a great place for bacteria to live. The warm, moist environment and constant food supply are everything bacteria need to thrive. If not for a healthy immune system, bacteria in the mouth would rapidly reproduce out of control, overwhelming the body's defense system.
# An infection begins when the body's immune system is overwhelmed. Gingivitis is an infection that occurs when bacteria invade soft tissues, bone, and other places that bacteria should not be. At the moment of infection, bacteria no longer help us, they begin to harm us. Infections, like other diseases, range from mild to severe or life threatening.
Gingivitis Causes
Gingivitis is considered to be a bacterial infection of the gums. The exact reason why gingivitis develops has not been proven, but several theories exist.
# For gingivitis to develop, plaque must accumulate in the areas between the teeth. This plaque contains large numbers of bacteria thought to be responsible for gingivitis. But it is not simply plaque that causes gingivitis. Almost everyone has plaque on their teeth, but only a few develop gingivitis.
# It is usually necessary for the person to have an underlying illness or take a particular medication that renders their immune system susceptible to gingivitis. For example, people with leukemia and Wegner disease have changes in the blood vessels of their gums that allow gingivitis to develop. Other people with diabetes, Addison disease, HIV, and other immune system diseases lack the ability to fight bacteria invading the gums.
# Sometimes hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy, puberty, and steroid therapy leave the gums vulnerable to bacterial infection.
# A number of medications used for seizures, high blood pressure, and organ transplants can suppress the immune system and change the structure of the gums enough to permit bacterial infection.
Gingivitis Symptoms
# Swelling, redness, pain, and bleeding of the gums are signs of gingivitis.
# The breath begins to take on a foul odor.
# The gums begin to lose their normal structure and color. The gums, which were once strong and pink, begin to recede and take on a beefy red, inflamed color.
# Inflammation-a complex system by which bacteria-fighting cells of the body are recruited to an area of bacterial infection-plays a major role in gingivitis. It is this inflammation of the gums that accounts for most of the symptoms of gingivitis.
# When bacteria first begin to invade the gums, proteins present in the saliva and soft tissues called antibodies coat the bacteria and weaken it, making it an easy target for the body's immune system. The cells that encounter the bacteria first attempt to kill it and, in the mean time, release chemicals into the bloodstream to call other cells to their aid.
# One particular cell called a macrophage is responsible for ingesting the bacteria and dissolving it with chemicals. This system works nicely, but it is not terribly efficient. While the invading bacteria are destroyed, chemicals used by the immune system cells to kill them are spilled into the surrounding tissues. This not only kills the bacteria but damages the nearby connective tissues and cells of the gums as well.
# The body sees this inflammation as a small price to pay for stopping the bacteria. This process will continue until the source of the infection is removed.
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