Dental help with gums! Please help?
October 11th, 2009 Posted by: admin
I am 22. I began to have what seemed like gingivitis when I became pregnant. My daughter is about to be 3 years old in a few months. I went to the dentist about a year and half ago to correct the problem. I was so scared and hesitant to go and ended up not going back because I was yelled at because of the state of my gums and told that I would need a somewhat expensive procedure.
My confidence is dwindling as my teeth and gums get worse. I always felt one of my best attributes was my smile. But now I try not to smile because of my horrendous gums and feel very self conscious about myself.
Anyhow, I was wondering if I could have any suggestions as to what to do to correct this problem. I brush and use mouthwash 3 times/day. I am going to just **** it up and go back to the dentist and get the procedure but was wondering what could be done in the mean time while I save the money.
Thank you!
Thank you everyone for your help! It means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate it!
By: 020104
My confidence is dwindling as my teeth and gums get worse. I always felt one of my best attributes was my smile. But now I try not to smile because of my horrendous gums and feel very self conscious about myself.
Anyhow, I was wondering if I could have any suggestions as to what to do to correct this problem. I brush and use mouthwash 3 times/day. I am going to just **** it up and go back to the dentist and get the procedure but was wondering what could be done in the mean time while I save the money.
Thank you!
Thank you everyone for your help! It means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate it!
By: 020104
Tags: Confidence, Smile, Teeth And Gums
October 14th, 2009 at 08:24
Floss and brush thoroughly (for about 2 minutes) at least twice a day, for now use warm salt water rinse several times a day and avoid the mouth wash; it can be an irritant.
Next find a new dentist. No one should ever yell at a patient (for anything)or criticize them for the condition of their gums during or after a pregnancy; this is normal “pregnancy gingivitis” which happens with the best of patients. They should have treated this with a thorough cleaning and the use of an antibiotic mouth wash such as Peridex.
I can’t stress enough the importance of flossing, it keeps the teeth and the tissue below the gum line clean and free of tartar and calculus, which is what causes gingivitis to develop.
So, do have a cleaning completed and then floss, floss, floss every day along with thoroughly brushing the teeth and the tissue at least twice a day, and for now use some really warm salt water rinses to help soothe and heal the tissue.
October 15th, 2009 at 08:51
It is important that your dentist gets a look at your teeth to check the condition of the gums, although s/he shouldn’t yell at you! either way you may possibly need periodontal scaling, which is basically where the dentist cleans the calculus/tartar away, which contains all the bacteria affecting your gums. (Note, calculus/tartar is plaque which has calcified and is now hard and sticks to the tooth surface, often under the gum line so you can’t clean it away with a toothbrush!) However any gum problem is initially related to the plaque levels.
So, when you brush to get the most effective plaque removal you should angle your toothbrush 45 degrees towards the gum line, and clean in small circular motions all the way round, making sure you’re cleaning at the gum line on every single tooth on both sides. This is because the plaque accumulates at the gum line and when bacteria don’t get cleaned from there the gums can become inflamed (this is gingivitis). If you use mouthwash, it is only effective if there is no plaque present, as the plaque will not get washed away by mouthwash, which is why brushing is very important.
Flossing is equally as important, as this will remove the plaque from between teeth (brushing won’t remove this plaque!). Make sure when you floss, you wrap the floss around one tooth surface at a time and go up and down (not in and out!) against the tooth to wipe the plaque off the tooth. try not to go side to side because it may damage the gum and will not clean effectively. You may find if your gums are already inflamed your gums will bleed and some soreness after flossing. this is a feature of the inflammation due to the bacteria! however, do not worry about this, keep it up as much as you can (preferably with brushing before you sleep) and after a week or two the inflammation may resolve as you have removed the bacterial plaque constantly, and so the bleeding should stop. however if there is heavy calculus/tartar on the teeth below the gums then the bleeding may not stop!
Also, if you have slightly larger gaps between some teeth then it might be better to use ‘interdental brushes’ or ‘bottle brushes’. These are small straight brushes which cleans plaque between teeth better than floss in larger gaps, and there are different sizes to choose from depending on the gap sizes.
Something that might help you is a plaque disclosing tablet. You should be able to pick these up from a local pharmacy or dentist. you chew the tablet and it contains a simple dye which stains all plaque pink, purple or blue (so use it before bed during evening brushing, as it doesn’t look great on your lips!). This will show up all the plaque in your mouth, and after you brush and floss you’ll be able to see if you’ve left any- this is important because then you can see where you need to improve the cleaning- and once the pink is gone, the plaque is gone!
I hope this helps you. Maintaining these methods of oral hygiene is extremely important, as the ultimate goal is plaque control. When all the plaque is gone, and the dentist has cleaned away any calculus/tartar from your teeth, hopefully the inflammation will resolve!
October 16th, 2009 at 23:32
Call your local dental society or visit the society’s website to get the name of a dentist or dental clinic that provides free, sliding scale or low-cost dental services. All states and some counties/cities have them. They are usually named after the state/citie/county they are in.
October 17th, 2009 at 23:56
You need to find a dentist that won’t “yell at you”, but instead explain what is going on and why your gums are in the state that they are, and what you need to be doing to prevent any further damage.
I can’t tell you without having seen you what your problem is, but don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch, so to speak, don’t let it stop you from getting the help that you need. There are many good dentists out there, I hope you find one.
January 12th, 2010 at 10:25
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