Pericoronitis: Why Your Gums Might Feel Inflamed After a Dental Cleaning

Have you ever left a dental cleaning thinking,“Why does my gum feel sore or swollen all of a sudden?”

First—take a breath. This is more common than you think, and in many cases, it’s not because anything went wrong during your appointment.

One possible cause is something called pericoronitis.

What Is Pericoronitis?

Pericoronitis is inflammation of the gum tissue around a partially erupted tooth, most often a wisdom tooth in the back of your mouth. When a tooth doesn’t fully come in, it can leave a small flap of gum tissue behind. Food, plaque, and bacteria love to hide there—often without you realizing it. During a professional cleaning, that area may finally get disturbed or cleaned out… and your body responds with inflammation. That reaction can feel sudden, but it didn’t start that day.

“But It Started After My Cleaning…”

This is where a lot of confusion (and anxiety) comes in. A dental cleaning doesn’t cause pericoronitis—but it can reveal or irritate an already inflamed area that was quietly brewing under the surface. Think of it like this:If you clean out a splinter that’s been stuck in your skin, it might feel sore afterward—but the issue was there before you touched it.

Common symptoms include:

• Swelling or tenderness behind a back tooth

• Red or irritated gum tissue

• A dull ache or pressure

• Difficulty chewing on one side

• Occasionally a bad taste or mild odor

Why Wisdom Teeth Are Often Involved

Wisdom teeth are notorious for being:

• Partially erupted

• Hard to clean at home

• Easy spots for bacteria to collect

Even patients with great oral hygiene can struggle to keep those areas perfectly clean—especially if the tooth is angled or covered by gum tissue.

What Should You Do If This Happens?

If you notice inflammation, discomfort, or swelling after a cleaning, don’t ignore it—but don’t panic either.

At Point Meadows Dentistry, we usually recommend:

• Warm saltwater rinses to calm inflammation

• Gentle brushing around the area

• Avoiding hard or crunchy foods on that side

• Monitoring symptoms for a few days

If symptoms persist, worsen, or come with pain or swelling that doesn’t improve, it’s important to come back in. Sometimes pericoronitis needs additional treatment, localized cleaning, medication, or evaluation of whether that tooth is causing repeated issues.

The Good News

Most cases of mild pericoronitis are very manageable, especially when caught early. And noticing it after a cleaning often means you did the right thing by being seen.

Your dental team’s job isn’t just to clean teeth—it’s to help identify and manage things that could become bigger problems down the road.

When to Call Us

Reach out if you experience:

• Increasing pain or swelling

• Difficulty opening your mouth

• Fever or signs of infection

• Ongoing irritation that doesn’t improve

We’re always happy to take a look and talk through what’s happening—no assumptions, no judgment.