[Gingival bleeding].

Gingival bleeding is not of decisive importance in diagnosticating periodontal diseases, since various endogenous causative factors and exogenous conditions may enhance its occurrence. In the absence of periodontal disease, gingival bleeding might be a symptom of a systemic disease. Because gingival bleeding is in most cases the first sign of an affection of the tooth-supporting structures that the patient observes, it should be, for all the difficulties its substantivation, be considered in history taking and for self-control.