Gum puffed up
A puffy gum is commonly linked to plaque irritation, trapped food, trauma, or infection around a tooth.
The short answer
A puffy area of gum is usually caused by local inflammation, trapped food, trauma, or infection around a tooth. The gum, or gingiva, can swell when its connective tissue reacts to bacterial plaque, mechanical injury, or inflammation from the tooth and its supporting tissues. The location, colour, tenderness, bleeding, and duration help distinguish simple gingivitis from a deeper problem.
What is the direct answer?
What does this question mean?
The gum, or gingiva, can swell when its connective tissue reacts to bacterial plaque, mechanical injury, or inflammation from the tooth and its supporting tissues. The location, colour, tenderness, bleeding, and duration help distinguish simple gingivitis from a deeper problem.
What can you do next?
Gently brush the area with a soft toothbrush and clean between the teeth with floss or an interdental brush if it does not cause sharp pain. Rinse with warm salt water, avoid squeezing the swelling, and note whether a filling, sharp edge, erupting tooth, or food trap is present.
When should you seek dental care?
Book a dental examination if the swelling lasts, recurs, bleeds easily, or is associated with toothache, bad taste, pus, mobility, or a deep pocket. Seek urgent help for rapidly increasing facial swelling, fever, or trouble swallowing or breathing.
What should you ask the dentist?
Is the swelling limited to the gum margin or does it arise beside the tooth root? Could plaque, a food trap, a filling edge, periodontal pocket, erupting wisdom tooth, or dental infection explain it? Is an X-ray needed?
Frequently asked questions
Can a puffy gum settle on its own?
Mild irritation may improve when plaque and trapped food are removed, but persistent or repeated swelling needs an examination.
Why is one spot swollen?
A single spot may reflect a food trap, local trauma, a periodontal pocket, an erupting tooth, or infection from a nearby tooth.