The term "gingivitis" means inflammation of the gums. In fact, one reason why you should brush your teeth twice a day and use dental floss once a day, is to prevent gingivitis.

Gingivitis begins with plaque, a sticky substance and transparent forms on your teeth every day. The plaque contains bacteria that cause gingivitis and tooth decay. Therefore, it is essential to brush teeth and use dental floss every day. If plaque is not removed regularly, it will eventually harden and turn into tartar, only a dental professional can remove. This plaque can, over the years, cause deep pockets between the teeth and gums and loss of bone around teeth—an effect otherwise known as periodontitis.

Since the bone in the jaws holds the teeth into the jaws, the loss of bone can cause teeth over the years to become loose and eventually to fall out or need to be extracted because of acute infection. Regular cleanings (correctly termed periodontal debridement, scaling or root planning) below the gum line, best accomplished professionally by a dental hygienist or dentist, disrupt this plaque biofilm and remove plaque retentive calculus (tartar) to help prevent inflammation. Once cleaned, plaque will begin to grow on the teeth within hours. However, it takes approximately 3 months for the pathogenic type of bacteria (typically gram negative anaerobes and spirochetes) to grow back into the deep pockets and restart the inflammatory process. Calculus (tartar) may start to reform within 24 hours. Ideally, scientific studies show that all people with deep periodontal pockets (greater than 5mm) should have the pockets between their teeth and gums cleaned by a dental hygienist or dentist every 3–4 months.
 

If you are at a very advanced stage of the disease, your dentist may refer you to a specialist, a periodontist. The latter has a minimum of 3 years of university training in the treatment of gum disease and restoration of bone and gum tissue destroyed by the infection.

A periodontis also serious in cases of gum disease that regular dental care have no effect. It is even more important to clean their teeth with brushing and flossing.