An infected gum can often be managed at home in its early stages with consistent oral hygiene and rinses, but more advanced infections need professional treatment. The key is figuring out how far the infection has progressed: mild gum inflammation (gingivitis) is fully reversible, while deeper infection that has started destroying the bone and tissue anchoring your teeth (periodontitis) requires dental intervention to stop the damage. Here’s what to do at each stage.
Recognize What You’re Dealing With
Gum infections exist on a spectrum, and your next steps depend on where you fall. Gingivitis is the earliest form. Your gums look red or puffy, they bleed when you brush or floss, and you might notice persistent bad breath. At this stage, no permanent damage has occurred. The tissue is inflamed but still fully attached to your teeth, and pocket depths between your gum and tooth measure a normal 1 to 3 millimeters.
Periodontitis is what happens when gingivitis goes untreated. The infection moves below the gumline, and the tissue starts detaching from the tooth, creating deeper pockets that trap more bacteria. A dentist diagnoses this when at least two non-adjacent teeth show measurable attachment loss with pockets of 3 millimeters or more. At this point, the bone supporting your teeth is actively breaking down. You can’t reverse that at home.
A gum abscess is the most urgent scenario. This is a localized pocket of pus that causes intense, throbbing pain, visible swelling, and sometimes a bad taste in your mouth from drainage. If you develop a fever, swelling in your face, cheek, or neck, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or tender lymph nodes under your jaw, the infection may be spreading. That’s an emergency, and you should go to an ER if you can’t reach a dentist immediately.
What You Can Do at Home Right Now
If your gums are swollen and sore but you don’t have signs of a serious infection, home care can reduce bacteria and calm inflammation while you arrange a dental visit.
Salt water rinse: Mix half a teaspoon of salt into a cup of warm water. Swish gently for 30 seconds and spit. Salt water creates a temporarily alkaline environment that’s hostile to bacteria and helps draw fluid out of swollen tissue. You can repeat this several times a day.
Hydrogen peroxide rinse: Dilute standard 3% hydrogen peroxide (the brown bottle from any drugstore) with an equal part of water, bringing it down to 1.5%. Swish for about 30 seconds and spit. Do not swallow it. Undiluted hydrogen peroxide can burn tissue and cause internal damage if ingested. This rinse helps kill bacteria and can reduce bleeding gums.
Gentle, thorough brushing: It feels counterintuitive to brush gums that are bleeding, but removing the bacterial film along the gumline is exactly what they need. Use a soft-bristled brush and angle the bristles at 45 degrees toward the gumline. Brush for a full two minutes, twice daily. Follow with interdental cleaning. Interdental brushes (the small bristled picks that fit between teeth) tend to be more effective than traditional floss at reducing both plaque and gingivitis, according to the American Dental Association.
These measures genuinely work for gingivitis. With consistent daily cleaning, you can expect bleeding to decrease noticeably within a week or two and inflammation to resolve within two to four weeks. But if your symptoms aren’t improving after two weeks of diligent home care, or if they’re getting worse, that’s a sign the infection is deeper than surface-level inflammation.
Professional Treatments for Deeper Infections
When infection has moved below the gumline, a dentist or periodontist needs to physically remove the bacteria and hardened deposits (calculus) that your toothbrush can’t reach.
Scaling and Root Planing
This is the first-line professional treatment for periodontitis. Your dentist uses instruments (manual or ultrasonic) to scrape away plaque and tartar from below the gumline, then smooths the root surfaces so gum tissue can reattach more easily. The procedure is done under local anesthesia, usually over two visits if your whole mouth needs treatment. Your gums will be sore for a few days afterward, and you may notice some sensitivity to hot and cold for a couple of weeks as the tissue heals and tightens around the teeth.
Prescription Mouth Rinse
Your dentist may prescribe a chlorhexidine 0.12% mouth rinse to use alongside treatment. It’s the most effective antiseptic rinse available for reducing oral bacteria. The trade-off is staining: in clinical testing, 56% of users showed a measurable increase in tooth staining after six months, and 15% developed heavy staining. For this reason, it’s typically used for a defined period rather than indefinitely. A dental cleaning can remove the stains.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics aren’t standard for routine gum disease, but they become necessary when infection is acute, spreading, or not responding to local treatment. A gum abscess, for instance, often requires antibiotics alongside drainage. The typical course runs 3 to 7 days. If you have a penicillin allergy, alternatives are available. Your dentist will choose the appropriate option based on the severity of your infection and your medical history.
Surgical Options for Advanced Cases
When deep pockets persist after scaling and root planing, surgery may be the next step. Traditional flap surgery involves lifting the gum tissue back, cleaning the root surfaces and bone underneath, then repositioning the tissue and suturing it. It’s effective but comes with noticeable post-operative swelling, discomfort, and a longer recovery window.
Laser-assisted treatment is a newer, minimally invasive alternative. It uses targeted laser energy to remove diseased tissue and bacteria without incisions or stitches. Recovery is generally faster and less painful, patients need less medication afterward, and evidence suggests it’s more predictable in promoting bone regeneration and long-term stability. Not every periodontist offers laser treatment, so you may need to ask specifically about it.
What Recovery Looks Like
Healing timelines vary depending on the treatment. After a basic scaling and root planing, most people feel back to normal within a few days, though full tissue tightening takes several weeks. After gum surgery, swelling typically peaks around 48 to 72 hours, then steadily decreases. Most patients are comfortable for daily activities within one to two weeks, with complete healing at four to six weeks and full tissue maturation taking up to six months.
Your dentist will schedule a follow-up, usually around 10 to 14 days after a procedure, to confirm the tissue is integrating properly. At that point, roughly 85 to 90% of treated sites show successful attachment. Additional follow-ups at regular intervals (no longer than every six months) monitor pocket depths and ensure the infection hasn’t returned.
Keeping the Infection From Coming Back
Gum infections are caused by bacteria in dental plaque, and plaque re-forms within hours of cleaning. This means treatment only works long-term if you maintain the hygiene habits that keep bacteria under control.
Brush twice daily with a soft-bristled brush, focusing on the gumline. Clean between your teeth once a day with interdental brushes or floss. If you’ve been prescribed a chlorhexidine rinse, use it as directed for the recommended period, then switch to a standard antiseptic or fluoride rinse for maintenance. Smoking is one of the strongest risk factors for gum disease and significantly slows healing, so quitting makes a measurable difference in outcomes.
Professional cleanings every six months (or more frequently if your periodontist recommends it) catch early buildup before it triggers a new cycle of infection. People who’ve had periodontitis once are at higher risk of recurrence, so these visits aren’t optional. They’re part of the treatment.