What Is Gingivostomatitis?

Have you ever heard of Gingivostomatitis?

Gingivostomatitis is a highly contagious mouth infection which causes painful sores, irritated gums, blisters, fever, bad breath and swelling in and around the mouth.

This infection can affect anyone but is seen more in children under the age of six.

There are many different factors that can cause gingivostomatitis:

• Herpes Virus
• Coxsackievirus (a virus that is transmitted by touching a contaminated surface)
• Poor oral hygiene
• bacteria
• allergies
• exposure to chemicals
• radiation and chemotherapy

You can do some treatment on your own at home by:

• Rinsing your mouth with warm saltwater
• Avoiding spicy, salty or sour foods
• Eat soft foods until the mouth is healed
• Brush your teeth and gums with a periodontal toothbrush (super soft bristles) 
• Take over the counter pain medications

If the symptoms are not starting to healing after a week or two it's time to seek medical attention!

Your dentist or doctor may take a culture or perform a biopsy to see if you have gingivostomatitis. If that is what you have, they may prescribe an antibiotic and clean the infected area to help promote faster healing!