Bleeding gums are one of the most common findings in dentistry, and they are almost automatically labeled as gingivitis. From there, the clinical path is predictable: more “gum therapy,” more frequent cleanings, sometimes antimicrobial rinses, and a re-evaluation in a few months. It feels logical. It feels responsible. But what if the bleeding has nothing to do with infection at all?

This patient forced me to slow down and listen to what his mouth was actually telling us.

When I first examined him, there was clear bleeding on probing, as well as during air polishing and scaling. If I had stopped there, the diagnosis would have been simple. But before assigning a label, I looked under the phase-contrast microscope. What I saw immediately challenged the assumption that bleeding equals disease. His plaque sample was clean. There were no spirochetes, no red-complex pathogens, no motile rods, and no signs of active periodontal infection. In fact, his microbial profile looked remarkably stable.

Continue reading in my blog Bleeding gums are a symptom—not a diagnosis

More topics from my blog

• The gum disease-dementia connection
• Getting serious about true health and what it means for our dental patients

Barbara Tritz, MSB, BSDATE, BRDH, is a biological dental hygienist and orofacial myofunctional therapist whose blog, Queen of Dental Hygiene, provides patients the information they need to help them on their healing journey. “Our one-hour appointment time was just not long enough to share all the many important facts I wanted our patients to learn. Dental hygiene is about so much more than just teaching brushing and flossing," says Barbara. “We are healers, educators, and lifesavers, and we need to give our patients the tools and skills to empower them to true wellness and health.”