Gum disease is the most common reason adults lose teeth, and it is largely silent while it is doing the damage. Treating it is a different job from a routine clean — and the earlier it starts, the more of the supporting bone there is left to protect.
A routine scale and polish removes deposits from the parts of the tooth you can see and just below the gum edge. That is prevention, and for healthy gums it is enough. Once inflammation has travelled deeper and formed pockets between gum and root, cleaning has to reach surfaces that are several millimetres below the gum line, and that is a longer, more careful and usually numbed procedure.
The distinction that governs everything is where the disease has reached. Gingivitis is inflammation of the gum alone: nothing has been permanently lost, and thorough treatment can return the gum to health. Periodontitis is inflammation that has reached the bone anchoring the teeth. Bone lost to it does not grow back. Treatment at that stage is about stopping the loss and keeping what remains — which works well, but is a different promise, and we would rather be clear about it than let you assume otherwise.
Signs You May Need More Than a Clean
Any of these is worth a gum assessment rather than a routine appointment. Several of them can be present without pain, which is why gum disease is so often advanced before it is noticed.
Gums that bleed
when you brush or clean between the teeth, and keep doing so after a fortnight of thorough cleaning.
Red, swollen or tender gums
, or gums that look darker than the pale pink of healthy tissue.
Persistent bad breath or a bad taste
that cleaning does not shift.
Gums that have receded
, so teeth look longer or a root surface is showing.
Sensitivity from exposed roots
, which are not protected by enamel.
Teeth that have loosened, drifted or changed position
, or gaps opening where teeth used to touch.
A change in how your teeth meet
, or in how a denture fits.
Pus, a swelling or a gum abscess
— call us rather than waiting for a routine slot.
A previous diagnosis of gum disease
, or a family history of losing teeth early.
Smoking, or diabetes
, both of which materially raise the risk and change how gums respond to treatment.
How We Assess It
Gum disease is measured rather than judged by eye, because the part that matters is under the gum. A periodontal assessment records the depth of the crevice between gum and tooth at several points around every tooth, using a graduated probe. Shallow readings that do not bleed indicate health; deeper pockets, and bleeding when probed, show where disease is active and how far it has travelled.
Alongside that we record recession, how mobile each tooth is, and where deposits are trapped. X-rays show the level of the supporting bone, which is what separates gingivitis from periodontitis and therefore what the treatment is aiming to achieve. Medical history matters here more than in most dentistry, because diabetes, smoking and certain medications all change both the risk and the likely response.
That first chart also becomes the baseline. Without it there is no way to demonstrate later whether treatment has actually worked, as opposed to feeling like it has.
What Treatment Involves
Gum treatment is staged, and the stages are deliberate rather than a way of spreading out appointments.
1. Assessment and explanation
The charting above, then going through what the numbers mean, which teeth are affected and what the realistic aim is for each. You get a written estimate before anything is started.
2. Getting the causes under control
Detailed coaching on cleaning between the teeth, since most of the work happens at home between appointments and treatment will not hold without it. This stage also covers smoking, blood sugar control where relevant, and removing local plaque traps such as an overhanging filling edge.
3. Cleaning below the gum line
Removing plaque and hardened deposits from the root surfaces inside the pockets. Local anaesthetic is commonly used, and where several areas are involved this is usually spread across more than one appointment rather than done all at once.
4. Re-assessment after healing
Gums need time to respond, so pockets are re-charted some weeks later and compared against the baseline. This is the appointment that shows whether it has worked.
5. What follows depends on that result
Sites that have responded move to maintenance. Sites that have not may need further localised treatment, or referral to a specialist for periodontal surgery.
6. Ongoing maintenance
Reviews at an interval set for you rather than a standard six months, with pockets re-measured so any relapse is caught while it is small.
What It Can and Cannot Do
Treatment is effective, and it is worth being straightforward about where its limits are.
It can
settle inflammation and stop the bleeding, reduce pocket depths, halt or slow further loss of the bone and attachment holding your teeth, and let many teeth be kept for far longer than they otherwise would be.
It cannot regrow bone that has already been lost
through non-surgical treatment. The aim is to stop the loss, not reverse it.
Gums may look more receded afterwards, not less
Swollen gum tissue shrinks back as inflammation resolves, which can expose more root and open small dark gaps between teeth. That is healing rather than damage, but it surprises people who were not warned, so we would rather say it in advance.
Sensitivity often increases for a while
once root surfaces are clean and exposed. It usually settles, and can be managed.
Results depend heavily on cleaning at home
This is the part no appointment can do for you, and it is the single biggest determinant of whether the improvement holds.
Smoking reduces how well gums respond
to treatment. It does not make treatment pointless, but it changes what is achievable.
Some teeth may still be lost
despite good treatment, where too much support had already gone before it started.
It is not a one-off course
Gum disease is managed rather than cured, and stopping maintenance is the usual reason it comes back.
Afterwards
Most people are back to normal routines the same day. What to expect, and what helps:
Gums may be tender for a few days, and teeth more sensitive to cold for a while longer.
Keep cleaning the treated areas — gently, but do not skip them. Stopping is what lets it return.
A desensitising toothpaste often helps with the cold sensitivity while it settles.
Some bleeding for the first days is common as gums heal; it should be reducing rather than increasing.
Contact us if pain increases rather than eases, if a swelling develops, or if bleeding does not settle.
Come to the re-assessment appointment even if everything feels fine. Feeling better and measuring better are not the same thing, and only one of them predicts what happens next.
What Determines the Cost
There is no single price for gum treatment, because the same phrase covers anything from one visit to a staged course across several. What moves it is how many teeth are affected, how deep the pockets are, how many appointments the cleaning needs, and whether specialist referral turns out to be appropriate.
We assess and chart first, then give you a written estimate covering what is proposed before any treatment starts. If a plan needs to change once healing is reassessed, you are told before anything further is done. Payment is by cash or UPI.
Who Will Treat You
Your assessment and treatment are carried out by our dental team at the Irumbuliyur clinic, and you can meet the dentists here.
Where gum disease is advanced, or where it has not responded as expected to non-surgical treatment, the appropriate step is referral for specialist periodontal care, and we will arrange that rather than persist with treatment that is not working.
Gum Disease Treatment Questions, Answered
Related Treatments and Conditions
Bleeding Gums
The symptom that usually brings gum disease to attention, and what it means.
Cleaning & Scaling
Routine preventive cleaning, for gums that are already healthy.
Loose Teeth
What advanced gum disease can eventually lead to.
Bad Breath
Gum disease is one of its most common dental causes.
Dental Implants
Replacing a tooth that could not be saved — gum health is assessed first.
Check-ups
Routine examination, where gum problems are usually first picked up.
Patients come to us for gum treatment from Tambaram, Perungalathur, Selaiyur, Mudichur and Peerkankaranai — see all the areas we serve.
Written by Dental Leaf Clinical Team. Last updated 2026-08-18. This page is general information about a treatment and is not a diagnosis — what is right for you depends on a clinical assessment.
Gums Bleeding, or Been Told You Have Gum Disease?
Book a gum assessment and we will measure what is actually happening, explain what the numbers mean, and give you a written estimate before anything is started.
