If your gums hurt, the first step is figuring out whether the pain is from inflammation, an injury, or an infection, because each calls for a different response. Most gum pain comes from plaque buildup irritating the tissue along your gumline, and in many cases you can get relief at home while the underlying cause is addressed. Here’s how to manage the pain and know when something more serious is going on.
Why Your Gums Might Be Hurting
The most common cause of gum pain is gingivitis, which is gum inflammation triggered by plaque that’s been sitting on your teeth too long. Plaque is a sticky film of bacteria that forms constantly, and when it isn’t removed through brushing and flossing, it hardens into tarite and irritates the gum tissue. The result is redness, swelling, tenderness, and bleeding when you brush.
But plaque isn’t the only culprit. Gum pain can also come from:
- Canker sores: Small, round ulcers with a white or yellow center and red border that form on soft tissue, including the base of the gums. Most heal on their own in one to two weeks.
- Hormonal shifts: Pregnancy, menstrual cycles, and birth control pills can increase blood flow to the gums, making them swollen and tender. Pregnancy gingivitis affects 60% to 75% of pregnancies in the U.S.
- Injury or irritation: A sharp chip of food, aggressive brushing, ill-fitting dental work, or a new orthodontic appliance can all cause localized soreness.
- Dry mouth: Saliva helps wash bacteria away. When your mouth is chronically dry, whether from medications, mouth breathing, or dehydration, gum tissue becomes more vulnerable to irritation.
- Vitamin C deficiency: Poor nutrition, particularly low vitamin C intake, weakens gum tissue and slows healing.
- Smoking or chewing tobacco: Tobacco use damages gum tissue directly and reduces blood flow, making infections harder to fight.
At-Home Relief That Actually Helps
A warm salt water rinse is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do. Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water and swish gently for 30 seconds before spitting it out. Salt water reduces inflammation and lowers the bacterial load in your mouth, giving irritated tissue a chance to calm down. You can repeat this two to three times a day.
For pain management, the combination recommended by the American Dental Association works well: two 200 mg ibuprofen tablets taken alongside one 500 mg acetaminophen tablet. Ibuprofen targets inflammation directly, while acetaminophen works on pain through a different pathway. Together, they’re more effective than either one alone, and research shows they work as well as prescription painkillers for most dental pain without the risks of opioids.
While your gums are sore, switch to a soft-bristled toothbrush and brush gently. Overbrushing is surprisingly common and can wear down gum tissue, causing recession and sensitivity. If you use an electric toothbrush, many models have pressure sensors that alert you when you’re pushing too hard. Whether you use electric or manual, brushing for the full two minutes (the ADA baseline) can reduce plaque buildup by up to 20%.
Flossing might feel like the last thing you want to do with sore gums, but skipping it lets plaque build up in the spaces your toothbrush can’t reach. Be gentle, guide the floss rather than snapping it against your gums, and expect minor bleeding to decrease within a few days as the tissue starts healing.
When Gum Pain Points to Something Bigger
Gingivitis is reversible. Periodontitis is not. The difference matters. In a healthy mouth, the small gap between your gum and tooth measures 1 to 3 millimeters. When plaque and tartar push deeper beneath the gumline, that gap widens into a pocket where bacteria thrive. Once the bone and connective tissue supporting your teeth start breaking down, the damage can be managed but not fully undone.
Signs that gum pain may have progressed beyond simple gingivitis include gums that pull away from your teeth, persistent bad breath that doesn’t improve with brushing, loose teeth, or changes in how your teeth fit together when you bite. If your gum pain has lasted more than two weeks or keeps coming back, a dental exam can catch the problem before it advances.
What a Dentist Can Do
If at-home care isn’t resolving the pain, a dentist will likely start by measuring the pockets around your teeth with a small probe to assess how deep the inflammation goes. For gingivitis or early gum disease, the standard treatment is scaling and root planing, often called a deep cleaning. During this procedure, your gums are numbed with a local anesthetic, and a hygienist uses hand instruments or ultrasonic tools to remove plaque and tartar from both above and below the gumline. They then smooth the tooth roots so gum tissue can reattach more easily.
The whole process takes one to two hours. Most people return to normal activities the same day, though your gums may feel sore for a couple of days afterward. Any tooth sensitivity from the procedure typically fades within a month or two. In some cases, your provider may also place antibiotics around the tooth roots or prescribe a short course of oral antibiotics to clear lingering infection.
Gum Pain During Pregnancy
If you’re pregnant and your gums are suddenly tender and bleeding, you’re far from alone. The surge in estrogen and progesterone during pregnancy increases blood flow to gum tissue, making it more reactive to even small amounts of plaque. This can start as early as the first trimester and often peaks in the second.
The same home care principles apply: gentle brushing, flossing, and salt water rinses. Dental cleanings are safe during pregnancy and can help keep inflammation in check. Pregnancy gingivitis typically resolves after delivery as hormone levels return to normal, but leaving it untreated can allow it to worsen.
Canker Sores vs. Gum Disease
It’s easy to confuse a canker sore at the base of your gums with gum disease, but they feel and look different. Canker sores are distinct, shallow lesions, usually oval with a white or yellow center ringed in red. They appear on the soft tissues inside your mouth, not on your lips. Minor ones heal without scarring in one to two weeks. Major canker sores can take up to six weeks.
Gum disease pain, by contrast, tends to be more diffuse. It affects a broader area of the gumline rather than creating a single visible sore, and it’s accompanied by redness, swelling, and bleeding during brushing. If you can see a distinct sore, it’s more likely a canker sore. If the pain is widespread and your gums bleed easily, gum inflammation is the more probable cause.
Signs You Need Urgent Care
Most gum pain resolves with consistent home care or a dental visit. But a dental abscess, a pocket of infection at the root of a tooth or in the gum tissue, can become dangerous. The NHS recommends seeking emergency care if you have difficulty breathing, speaking, or swallowing, swelling around your eye or sudden vision problems, significant swelling in your mouth, or trouble opening your mouth. These symptoms suggest the infection may be spreading beyond the tooth and gum into surrounding tissue, which requires immediate treatment.