Gingivitis vs. periodontitis: what’s the difference?

The difference that determines your treatment

The distinction matters because the treatments are different. Gingivitis responds to a professional cleaning plus improved home care. Periodontitis requires scaling and root planing, a deeper procedure that removes bacteria from below the gumline.

• The key distinction
• Reversible
• Controllable, not curable

How one leads to the other

The progression isn’t sudden. It happens gradually, and often without pain. Plaque that isn’t removed hardens into tartar, which forms below the gumline and can’t be brushed away. As bacteria accumulate, inflammation causes gum tissue to pull away from the tooth, creating pockets. Deeper pockets harbor more bacteria, which drives further bone and tissue loss, until the cycle is interrupted by treatment.

Because the process is typically painless, many patients don’t recognize the signs of gum disease until it’s advanced. The “no pain, no problem” assumption doesn’t apply to gum disease, which is why regular exams matter.

Bone loss

What treatment looks like at each stage

Can periodontitis be cured?

Periodontitis can’t be cured in the way an infection with a clear endpoint can be. The bone that’s been lost doesn’t fully grow back, and the bacteria that cause it are always present in the mouth. What changes is whether the disease is active and progressing, or controlled and stable.

Patients who receive treatment and commit to a maintenance schedule, typically a cleaning every 3 to 4 months rather than every 6, can maintain their gum health and keep the disease from advancing. Many live with diagnosed periodontitis for decades without losing teeth.

The goal of treatment is control: stopping the disease and keeping it from advancing.