Led by our hygiene team · Direct access — no exam needed to start

Blood when you brush isn't normal — gum disease treatment in Rugby

Pink in the sink, gums that bleed when you floss, breath you've started worrying about — those are your gums asking for help, and caught early, gum disease is very treatable. Our hygiene team, led by Lucy, our Lead Hygiene Therapist with a special interest in exactly this, treats it every day.

  • Gum (periodontal) treatment £90 per quadrant — exact plan in writing first
  • Hygiene visit with Airflow® £92 — or £107 direct access if you're not a patient here
  • No judgement and no lectures — however long it's been
Book a hygiene visit   Call 01788 579 577

Sound familiar?

The signs most people ignore for years

Bleeding when you brush

The most common early sign — and the most commonly dismissed. Healthy gums don't bleed. Bleeding means inflammation, and inflammation is the disease getting started.

Breath you've started noticing

Persistent bad breath or a bad taste that brushing doesn't shift usually comes from bacteria living below the gumline — exactly where a toothbrush can't reach and a professional clean can.

Gums shrinking, teeth shifting

Receding gums, teeth that look longer, gaps appearing, anything feeling slightly loose — signs the disease has moved from the gums into the bone that holds your teeth. Still treatable — but the clock matters now.

Untreated, gum disease is the biggest cause of tooth loss in adults — and the inflammation doesn't stay in your mouth. We've written about the links between gum health and whole-body health if you want the deeper story.

How treatment works

Three steps — and no telling-off at any of them

1

Assess & measure

We examine your gums properly — measuring the pockets around each tooth to map exactly where the disease is and how far it's got. You'll see the numbers and understand what they mean.

2

Clean below the gumline

A professional clean that reaches where brushing can't: Airflow® to lift plaque and staining gently, and targeted periodontal treatment (£90 per quadrant) to clean the root surfaces below the gum where needed — with anaesthetic available if you want it.

3

Your routine + reviews

The honest part: what you do at home is half the treatment. We'll show you exactly what works for your mouth — then review and re-measure so you can watch the bleeding stop and the numbers improve.

The honest bit

What we can promise — and what we can't

Caught early: reversible

Gingivitis — the bleeding-gums stage — is fully reversible with professional cleaning and the right home routine. A few weeks of consistency and healthy gums stop bleeding.

Established: manageable

Once gum disease has reached the bone (periodontitis), honesty matters: it can be stabilised and controlled for life, but not cured — anyone promising a cure is selling something. Stable and controlled keeps your teeth.

Smoking: we have to say it

Smoking roughly doubles the risk and quietly hides the bleeding that would warn you. We'll never lecture — but we'd be lying if we didn't tell you quitting is the single biggest thing you can do for your gums.

Who you'll see

The team that treats gums all day, every day

LB

Lucy

Lead Hygiene Therapist · Special interest in gum disease

The reason plenty of our patients genuinely look forward to hygiene visits — gentle, thorough, and known for turning nervous bleeders into confident flossers.

LA

Liliana Angel Chaux

Hygienist · GDC 297180

Thorough, gentle cleans including our Airflow® treatment — lifting the staining and plaque that brushing can't, with no lectures, just help.

Direct access means you can see the hygiene team without an exam first — even if you're not a Rugby Smiles patient (£107). If your gums need a dentist's input, they'll tell you honestly.

Clear pricing, in writing first

£90 per quadrant — gum treatment

Hygiene visit with Airflow® £92 · Direct access (not a patient here) £107 · Dental Plan members pay £81 per quadrant and get two Airflow® visits a year included in the plan from £22/month. Your exact plan and cost is agreed in writing before treatment starts.

Book a hygiene visit

Asked quietly, at the end of appointments

Gum disease questions, answered honestly

My gums bleed when I brush — is that normal?
No — common, but not normal. Bleeding is inflammation, and it's the earliest, most treatable stage of gum disease. The counter-intuitive part: people often brush and floss less when gums bleed, which feeds the problem. Book a hygiene visit and it's usually very fixable.
Can gum disease be cured?
Honest answer: the early stage (gingivitis) is fully reversible. Established periodontitis — where bone is involved — can be stabilised and controlled for life, but not cured. Controlled means the bleeding stops, the pockets shrink and you keep your teeth — which is the outcome that matters.
Does gum treatment hurt?
The Airflow® clean is gentler than traditional scraping — most patients are surprised how comfortable it is. Deeper periodontal cleaning below the gumline can be done with local anaesthetic so you feel pressure, not pain. Tender gums for a day or two afterwards is normal and settles.
How much does gum disease treatment cost in Rugby?
A hygiene visit with Airflow® is £92 (£107 direct access if you're not a registered patient). Where deeper treatment is needed it's £90 per quadrant of the mouth (£81 for Dental Plan members) — and your exact plan is priced in writing before anything starts. The £22/month plan includes two Airflow® visits a year.
Do I need to be a patient at Rugby Smiles to be seen?
No — direct access means you can book straight in with the hygiene team for £107, no exam or registration needed. If they spot something that needs a dentist, they'll tell you honestly — no automatic upsell.
Will my loose tooth tighten back up?
Sometimes, honestly, yes — when looseness is caused by inflammation, treatment can firm things up as the gums heal. When bone loss is advanced, stability is the realistic goal. That's exactly what the assessment measures, and we'll give you a straight answer about your tooth rather than a vague one.
Is bad breath really a gum thing?
Very often, yes. Persistent bad breath usually comes from bacteria below the gumline and between teeth — places brushing can't reach. Treat the gums and clean those areas properly, and the breath problem usually goes with it. It's one of the most life-improving fixes we do.
Is gum disease linked to my general health?
The research keeps stacking up: gum inflammation is linked with heart disease, diabetes control, and more. We've written a plain-English piece on it — why bleeding gums are a whole-body problem — worth five minutes if you want the evidence.

Two ways this goes

You book the hygiene visit

An hour with Lucy or Liliana, a proper map of where your gums actually are, and a plan in writing. A few weeks later you brush, nothing bleeds, and you stop thinking about your breath in meetings.

You keep rinsing and hoping

The bleeding becomes background noise, the disease works on quietly — it's painless right up until teeth loosen, and by then the options are narrower. If now's not the time, that's okay. Your gums will still be worth saving when it is.

No judgement — however long it's been

Let's get your gums sorted

Book online, call 01788 579 577 — or leave your number and Georgia, our treatment co-ordinator, will ring you back.

Book a hygiene visit

Thanks — Georgia will call you back within working hours. Talk soon.

Rugby Smiles Dental Clinic · 3 Newbold Road, Rugby CV21 2LQ · Free parking outside the door