gums
Sign in to saveThe gums or gingiva (: gingivae) consist of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth. Gum health and disease can have an effect on general health.
AI overview
The gums are the soft tissues inside your mouth that cover the bones of your upper and lower jaw. They're important because their health can affect your overall wellbeing.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Anatomy.Name
- Gums
- Anatomy.Latin
- gingiva
- Anatomy.Image
- Blausen_0863_ToothAnatomy_02.png
- Anatomy.Caption
- Cross-section of a tooth with gums labeled
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Structure
- Marginal gums
- Attached gum
- Interdental gum
- Characteristics of healthy gums
- Color
- Contour
- Texture
- Reaction to disturbance
- Clinical significance
- See also
- References
- External links
The gums or gingiva (: gingivae) consist of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth. Gum health and disease can have an effect on general health.
==Structure== The gums are part of the soft tissue lining of the mouth. They surround the teeth and provide a seal around them. Unlike the soft tissue linings of the lips and cheeks, most of the gums are tightly bound to the underlying bone which helps resist the friction of food passing over them. Thus when healthy, it presents an effective barrier to the barrage of periodontal insults to deeper tissue. Healthy gums are usually coral pink in light skinned people, and may be naturally darker with melanin pigmentation.