Why are my gums swollen?

Gums swell because the tissue is inflamed, most often from plaque and calculus along the gumline. Swelling around one tooth usually means something local — trapped food, a periodontal pocket, an abscess or an erupting wisdom tooth. Swelling across all the gums points to gingivitis, gum disease, pregnancy or a medication. Spreading facial swelling or fever needs a hospital.

If your gums have swollen and you want to know why, an assessment answers it.
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Quick facts: Berala Dental is a family dental practice at 184 Woodburn Road, Berala NSW 2141, operating since 2002. Swollen gums are assessed at a check-up, X-rays and clean for $250, with X-rays, intraoral photos, a periodontal screening and a fluoride treatment included; a focused consultation for one specific problem, such as swelling around a single tooth, is $80 with one of our oral health therapists or Dr Mahnaz Khan. Where gum disease is the cause, a periodontal deep clean is $400 per quadrant or $1,600 for the full mouth, with maintenance appointments at $400 each afterwards that are not included in the $1,600. Every fee assumes the health fund contributes nothing, and a written quote is given before treatment starts. Berala Dental is a Bupa Members First Platinum and nib First Choice provider, accepts all Australian health funds and processes HICAPS on the spot. It is a general dental practice with no specialist periodontist on site, and advanced cases are referred. Same-day emergency appointments are available.

Why do gums swell in the first place?

Gum tissue swells for the same reason a cut finger swells: the body sends extra blood and immune cells to a place under attack. In the mouth the attack is nearly always bacterial plaque. Plaque left along the gumline for more than a day or two hardens into calculus, which cannot be brushed off at home. The gum beside it turns red, puffy and bleeds easily. That is gingivitis, the single most common reason for swollen gums in adults.

The second most common reason is that the inflammation has been there long enough to move deeper. Healthy gums sit against the tooth with a shallow groove of 1–3mm. When bacteria push that groove deeper it becomes a periodontal pocket, and pockets swell, drain and settle in cycles. The clinical team at Berala Dental regularly sees people who have carried gum disease for 5–10 years without a day of pain, losing bone the whole time.

Is the swelling around one tooth or across all your gums?

The pattern narrows the cause more than anything else, so look along the whole gumline, upper and lower, in good light. Localised swelling — one tooth, or one small patch of gum — almost always has a local cause: something trapped, something broken, or something infected at that one spot. Generalised swelling — puffy, red gums across most of the mouth — points to a whole-mouth process such as gingivitis, periodontitis, hormonal change or a medication side effect. The two patterns are investigated differently at Berala Dental: a focused consultation for one specific problem is $80 with an oral health therapist or Dr Mahnaz Khan, while a full assessment with X-rays and a clean is $250.

What causes gum swelling around one tooth?

Five causes account for nearly all localised gum swelling seen at Berala Dental.

• Food impaction. A fragment of meat, popcorn husk or seed wedged between two teeth or under the gum. The gum swells within 24 hours and settles within 48 hours of the fragment being removed.
• A periodontal abscess. A pocket beside the tooth has sealed over and filled with pus. The gum bulges and often leaves a bad taste when it drains.
• A tooth abscess. Infection from inside a dead or decayed tooth has tracked through the bone to a pimple-like bump on the gum near the root tip.
• A broken filling or crown margin. A rough or open edge traps plaque against the gum where no brush reaches, and the gum stays swollen until the margin is repaired.
• An erupting wisdom tooth. A flap of gum over a partly erupted wisdom tooth traps bacteria beneath it; the swelling sits behind the last molar, often with a sore throat and limited opening.

What causes gum swelling across all the gums?

Generalised swelling means the whole gumline is responding to something, and the list is shorter than most people expect.

• Gingivitis. Plaque-driven inflammation confined to the gum. It is fully reversible with a professional clean and consistent daily cleaning, and Berala Dental treats it within the $250 check-up, X-rays and clean.
• Periodontitis. Inflammation that has moved into the bone. Pockets deeper than 3mm, bleeding on probing and bone loss on the X-ray confirm it. It is managed, not cured, with a deep clean at $1,600 for the full mouth and maintenance at $400 per appointment.
• Pregnancy. Pregnancy hormones make gum tissue far more reactive to plaque, so gums swell and bleed even with good daily hygiene. It is not a hygiene failure, and Berala Dental places pregnant patients on a three-month recall.
• Medications. Some blood pressure medications, anti-epileptic drugs and immunosuppressants cause the gum to overgrow and trap plaque. Never stop or change a medication over gum swelling; mention it to the dentist and the prescriber.
• General health. Poorly controlled diabetes, dry mouth and, rarely, blood disorders can show up as swollen gums. Where swelling does not match a dental cause, Berala Dental suggests a GP visit alongside dental care.

Not sure which pattern you are looking at? Ask us.
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When is a swollen gum an emergency?

A small number of swollen gums are the early stage of infection spreading beyond the mouth. Go straight to a hospital emergency department if any of the following are present.

• Facial swelling that is spreading — towards the eye, under the jaw or down the neck
• Difficulty swallowing or difficulty breathing
• Fever with facial swelling, or feeling seriously unwell
• Swelling that makes it hard to open the mouth more than two fingers wide

Everything short of those four signs is a same-day dental problem. Berala Dental keeps same-day emergency appointments for exactly this, and every call from someone in pain is treated as urgent. See also facial swelling: dentist or hospital?

What does a dentist do about swollen gums?

The visit follows the same order every time: find the cause, relieve it, then stop it coming back. At Berala Dental that means a short history, a close look at the gumline, a periodontal screening with a fine probe to measure whether pockets are deeper than the healthy 1–3mm, and an X-ray to show bone level and whether a tooth is the source.

Treatment follows the diagnosis, not the symptom. Trapped food is removed. A periodontal abscess is drained and the pocket cleaned below the gumline under local anaesthetic. A tooth abscess needs root canal treatment or an extraction. A rough filling margin is smoothed or replaced. A wisdom-tooth flap is cleaned beneath and the tooth assessed for removal. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed alongside one of these steps when infection is spreading, but they are never the treatment on their own, and only the treating dentist or doctor decides whether they are appropriate.

What does treating swollen gums cost at Berala Dental?

Every figure below assumes the health fund contributes nothing, and a written quote with item numbers is provided before anything beyond the assessment begins.

• Check-up, X-rays and clean: $250. X-rays, an OPG for new patients, intraoral photos, periodontal screening, the clean and a fluoride treatment are all included.
• Focused consultation for one specific problem, with one of our oral health therapists or Dr Mahnaz Khan: $80. For swelling around a single tooth.
• Periodontal deep clean: $400 per quadrant or $1,600 full mouth. All-inclusive of X-rays, six-point periodontal charting, local anaesthetic every visit and a home-care plan, over 1–4 visits.
• Periodontal maintenance: $400 per appointment. The first is 3–4 months after the course finishes. It is not included in the $1,600.
• Extraction where a tooth is the cause: $350–550 simple, $850 surgical.

What a health fund pays is set by the fund and the policy, so check with the fund before the visit; Berala Dental processes HICAPS on the spot.

Can swollen gums go away on their own?

Sometimes, and the timeframe tells you which kind you have. Gingivitis usually improves within 1–2 weeks of thorough brushing and daily cleaning between the teeth, though calculus already formed still needs a professional clean. Swelling from trapped food settles within about 48 hours once the fragment is out.

Swelling from a pocket, an abscess, a broken margin or a wisdom tooth does not resolve on its own. It calms down for a week or two and flares again, which is the pattern that leads people to put it off for years while bone is lost that does not grow back; treatment at Berala Dental stops the loss where it is. A gum still swollen after 48 hours of careful cleaning, or returning to the same spot, is worth measuring.

What can you do at home while you wait for an appointment?

Keep the area clean, even though it is tender; avoiding the swollen spot lets plaque build up exactly where the problem is. Brush gently with a soft brush angled into the gumline, clean between the teeth once a day, and rinse with warm salt water after meals. Over-the-counter pain relief can be used as directed on the packet. Do not poke, squeeze or lance a swelling, and do not hold a hot compress against the face. None of this treats the cause; it keeps you comfortable until the cause is dealt with.

Quick answers

Why is my gum swollen around one tooth?

Gum swelling around a single tooth almost always has a local cause: food wedged between the teeth, a periodontal pocket or abscess, an abscess from inside the tooth, a rough filling margin, or a partly erupted wisdom tooth. Berala Dental assesses a single-tooth problem at a focused consultation for $80 with an oral health therapist or Dr Mahnaz Khan.

Why are all my gums swollen?

Swelling across the whole gumline usually means gingivitis or periodontitis driven by plaque and calculus, though pregnancy, certain medications and some health conditions produce the same picture. A periodontal screening and X-rays, included in Berala Dental’s $250 check-up, X-rays and clean, separate the reversible gum-only stage from the stage that has reached bone.

Do I need antibiotics for a swollen gum?

Usually not. Antibiotics do not remove plaque, calculus, trapped food or the pocket causing the swelling, so on their own the swelling comes back. A dentist or doctor may prescribe them alongside treatment when infection is spreading, and only the prescriber decides. The dental treatment resolves the cause.

When should I go to hospital for a swollen gum?

Go to a hospital emergency department if facial swelling is spreading, if swallowing or breathing is difficult, if there is fever with the swelling, or if the mouth will not open properly. Everything short of that is a same-day dental appointment at Berala Dental, 184 Woodburn Road, Berala.

What should you do next about swollen gums?

Check the four hospital signs; if none apply, have the gum measured rather than guessed at. Berala Dental has assessed swollen gums at 184 Woodburn Road, Berala, since 2002, and no question is a silly one.

Berala Dental has looked after Berala families since 2002, six days a week.
Call (02) 9649 6468 · Book online · WhatsApp

You can also read about deep cleaning and periodontal treatment, whether a gum infection needs a dentist or a doctor, gingivitis, the stage that is still reversible, or how our fees work. The Healthdirect Australia guide to gum disease is a useful general reference.

Page information current as of September 2026. Written and reviewed by Humzah Aly, Oral Health Therapist. This article is general information only and is not a substitute for personalised dental advice. Please see a dental practitioner to discuss what is right for you.