Sounds like pericoronitis (inflammation around the crown), often associated with slowly erupting or impacted wisdom teeth. Clean it as best you can, get a chlorhexidine mouthwash ("Savacol", "Periogard") . Usually goes down after a few days. If not, go to dentist for ultrasonic cleaning and possible antibiotics. If associated with a wisdom tooth (3rd molar), it's usually time to think about having it extracted.
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