red, inflamed mouth and gums - flossing etc not helping

[Quangle]

This came out of the blue about a month ago. At first I thought I had burnt my mouth but it's not that. It's the roof of my mouth and also my gums although there's no bleeding. My teeth and gums are generally in pretty good nick so not sure what this is about.

I'm flossing daily which is fine, and doing gentle brushing and have been using hydrogen peroxide mouthwash (Peroxyl) but it's not really going. I have an appointment at the dentist but wonder what else I should try.

I did read this could be related to the menopause. Any experience of that and if it is hormonally related, what do you take to make it go away? Or any other suggestions?

[Willdoitinaminute]

Have you changed toothpaste recently. Most contain SLF (sodium laural sulfate) which can cause a dermatitis type reaction ( it is used widely in detergents and hygiene products so over time many people become sensitive to it). Some of the more sophisticated 'Total' toothpastes have a glue like component that make them 'stick' to the teeth and gums to extend their activity.
Look for a paste that is free from SLF or try an original version. I think one of the Sensodyne products is slf free. Keep your appointment with your dentist because this is only one posibility.
Menopause does cause some oral symptoms such as burning mouth syndrome but also anaemia can commonly cause soreness in the mouth. Best to get it checked out.

[Quangle]

Thank you so much for those suggestions - both of which make sense. I recently switched to a particular Oral B toothpaste the dentist recommended to deal with staining on my teeth - maybe that's why. (I don't smoke btw, or drink much so the staining is also a bit annoying). And I'm also always anaemic so that's another thing I hadn't thought of. I take as much iron supplement as I can before the constipation kills me

I will definitely go to the dentist anyway - and hope to have a sensible conversation that doesn't just involve telling me to floss even more than I already do. Thanks for the ideas - greatly appreciated.