Gum disease help :(

[ButtonandTiny]

I have gum disease, I'm really trying to get it under control. I'm using the interdentals, floss, a cordosyl toothpaste and mouthwash (at a different time to brushing). I had a deep clean at the dentist and my gums have shrunk back so I have the horrible black triangles between my teeth.

I'm due back at the dentist in December but I'm not sure what I want to ask about. I've been reading about gum veneers and gum grafts. Has anyone had either of these? What were the costs like?

I also feel a pain in some of my teeth all the time and seem to be producing a real excess amount of saliva. I'm thinking about my teeth a lot and I'm really conscious of them now when speaking and smiling.

Has anyone had gum disease and managed to get it under control?

Hey @. I’m so sorry to hear your experience and I have to say I am in exactly the same place. I’m only 39 and I have had a deep clean due to sever periodontal disease. Now my gums feel horrible and I have black triangles, sensitive teeth to any food and also worst ever. I lisp? I feel so self conscious when I talk and can’t say words with s or z.

I’m going to try gum veneers as I need a solution …

Did you do anything yet?

I meant @ButtonandTiny

I found dipping teepees into corsodyl mouthwash and cleaning between my teeth daily has stabilised my gum disease.

I'm in a similar situation, the sensitivity was awful, it was excruciating when I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist, had to keep asking him to stop! He sent me home with duraphat toothhpaste, mouthwash and interdental brushes (which I already used) I'm looking into pin hole surgery which seems less invasive than gum grafts, though not cheap.

@BurnedToast I must try this

Honestly it had helped so much. I visit the hygenist every 3 months and she suggested it. Last time I went I had no pockets (were 3mm) as they have closed and don't need to see her for 6 months.

I had the same about 5 years ago. Had 3x under the gum intensive treatment at the dentist 2 weeks apart. Was left with black triangles, but subsequently had dental bonding which sorted that out and now my teeth look fine.
I feel for you as it’s such an awful feeling. I’ve always practiced good dental hygiene and my dentist pur the gum disease down to stress 🤷‍♀️.
I’m even more militant now about hygienist every 6 months, daily flossing and using interdental brushes.

Just posting in sympathy. Have just had abscess treated and dentist horrified by gums. There's a 3 month wait to see the hygienist but I've been told I've probably got to be referred to dental hospital (loong wait) or else go private, which I can't really afford. I've always taken care of my teeth, although didn't have any checkups over covid. Am going to try the tepe brushes dipped in corsodyl tip in the hope things improve before I see the hygienist. Dentist couldn't believe I didn't smoke. History of similar in the family too though, so perhaps crap gums is genetic!

I had a gum graft. It's pretty brutal and the stitches were grim but it's held fast for 4 years. It cost about £300 all in.

I started using toothpaste on my interdental brushes a while ago and it's made a huge difference. I had a year between hygienist visits because of covid and I had far less deposits and pockets than I would previously have had after 4 monthly gap between appointments. Having said that, I've since read that it's not recommended to use toothpaste because it's abrasive, but it doesn't seem to have caused any issues for me.

I feel your pain quite literally, I have gum disease and and been in daily pain for 18 months.
I’ve only just managed to find a dentist was lucky to get a cancellation hygienist appointment straight away rather than the three month away appointment they initially gave me. I’ve literally just started treatment.

I need to go and get some more interdental brushes as I got the wrong ones so am flossing until then with mouthwash (which I’ve always done) and I do think this helped to stop gum disease getting worse over the last 18 months, as hygienist said gums are inflamed but not too bad at the moment! Despite being so friggin sore!

It’s so horrible isn’t it. I hate that my teeth are so sensitive to eat. And I am so self conscious when I talk that I am lisping.

I just don’t know if it can get fixed over time or I’m stuck like this…

I too have gum disease. I went to dentist in the summer, my first trip since covid (was pretty regular till the pandemic), and was horrified to find out I had severe bone loss and 4 loose front teeth. I seriously lost my s**t and had terrible anxiety. A deep clean stabilised 1 tooth so am now down to 3 loose teeth. 1 is worse then the other 2 and I'll probably loose it in the next year. I can't have implants because of the bone loss so I'm looking at a partial denture. For now it's merticulous hygiene, deep cleans every 3 months and my dentist pushes my loose tooth back in every time I see him which stops it from moving every cpl of weeks.

I'm 41, and in early menopause, plus it runs in my family. My parents and my sister all started to lose their teeth at the same age.

@Evilpixie41

Do your teeth feel loose?

I hope a dentist or two pops along to the thread. I'd love some impartial views on mouthwash as two recent dentists disagree. One says to use it, the other to avoid it.

I have problems with my gums. Every four months with the hygienist isn't quite enough. I don't know why, I don't eat a huge amount of sugar. Interdental brushes twice a day, mouthwash to leave some fluoride on the surface because I can't stand leaving toothpaste on my teeth. Curasept mouthwash if I get a flare up, the gel for problem spots.

[quote NovemberNovemberDarkNights]@Evilpixie41

Do your teeth feel loose?

I hope a dentist or two pops along to the thread. I'd love some impartial views on mouthwash as two recent dentists disagree. One says to use it, the other to avoid it.[/quote]
Yes. They all wiggle.

Dip the interdental brushes in toothpaste first and dunk the floss in mouthwash.

You can reverse gum disease to a certain extent as long as there's no bone loss but you have to be meticulous. A good way of telling whether you're making progress is to smell the floss after each gap. Gum disease smells. If it stinks you need to pay more attention to that bit. If it doesn't smell then you just need to keep up the maintenance.

Thank you all for the replies, it makes me feel not so alone. I seem to be obsessed with teeth and gums now.
I have been doing the interdentals dipped in cordosyl and hoping it's making a difference. I went back to the dentist in December and came away disheartened again, she doesn't really say much just there is bad gum disease and I need a deep clean. I think I did sigh that it seemed there had been no improvement and she asked if I wanted a referral to a periodintist but she said she would have to find one and it would be ££££. Then asked if I smoked, which I don't.

I've contacted a different dentist but have had no response so far. My gums have receeded so I can now see brown on each bottom tooth. I'm booked in for another deep clean on the 12th.

10ish years ago I went through 7 or 8 deep cleans with a Periodontist which was £200 a session (claimed back through a work dental plan). It was brutal, but got me off to a good start. Up until recently I’ve seen the hygienist every 3 months and have recently been moved to 6 months. The pockets are under control at 2/3mm (they used to be 8-12mm from memory) .

My suggestions would be to find a hygienist who you get on with and who will give the right amount of nagging vs support (worth their weight in gold), sensodyne gum health toothpaste (don’t rinse at night for extra oomph) and for me getting my wisdom teeth removed as I simply couldn’t clean around them and had massive pockets at the back. I started off on corsodyl mouth wash, then moved to listerine gum but for the last few years have been told I don’t need it.

Things are great now and the only time I get a problem is when a seed or something works its way into my gum and I get a naggy toothache. That’s when I attack with all my brushes, teepees etc and invariably it sorts the problem.

That gives me hope @Freddofan. That it can be brought under control.
I think I could do with my back right wisdom tooth removed as that is the worst at the moment.
I will ask about the hygienist when I go back on the 12th.

hi all. I am posting in two threads as the other one seems to be inactive. so to repeat; I have stage 4 PD too! I only found out a couple of weeks ago but it is consuming my every waking (and sleeping) moment! From the confusion of 'why do I have this?!' I have always been ok with dental hygiene and if anything am better now that I was in my younger days - but it sees to be unstoppable once it starts, to the fear of how it will look (ok at the moment but stage 4 is BAD - so will continue to get worse I guess), to then being more concerned about the link with this and cardio vascular disease and blood poisoning!! so many reasons to freak out!!! Can anyone who has had this for a long time please say how they are doing now? I am yet to get an appointment with a periodontist as my dentist wants me to go see them again in 3 months to see how its progressing (WHY? it's clearly already fooked - so the delay in being able to speak with a specialist is also making the anxiety bad - although after the dentist and googling, I'm not sure I want to hear what a periodontist has got to say - oh God,... I am so scared of what this all means, both health wise and cosmetically! I'm 39 by the way.

I feel exactly the same @Boofy82. I don't think a day goes by where I don't scare myself thinking about my teeth falling out!

Truthfully, I think I would rather they did all fall out and I could get a lovely set of dentures rather than looking at my receding gum line.
I had another deep clean in Jan, I'm being so careful with cleaning, interdentals of all sizes everyday but my bottom front two teeth are so sensitive now. I have another appointment for April, but like you say it's obvious I'll need a deep clean so why not just book that rather than a check up first.

My dentist is also not very forthcoming with information about what to do or how this will progress. I'm really tempted to just go somewhere else, there is a private dentist about 30 mins away that can do things like gum grafts, just not sure what to do.

@ButtonandTiny
This is taking over my life! I cant eat or sleep.. and I believe stress makes it worse so that's not helpful at all.
I keep comparing my gums with other peoples and mine are dark pink not the light pink they should be.
I wish i could go back 18 months and do more when it started - I will never be free of this now! I have even googled clinical trials and cant find any hope :(

I'm 50 and have gum disease and bone loss. Have had for many years. Two wobbly teeth. My dental hygiene is great and I don't smoke, dentist says it's probably hereditary.
I get completely numbed up and have a deep clean every four to six months which I hate, but I know I have deep pockets and my gums just keep on receding. I take calcium and Vit D supps, so can't do much more early.
The dentist says I'll lose some teeth at some point and I have nightmares about it.

@cptartapp has the deep cleans not helped with the pockets and the gum recession? Has is got worse still over the time you have been treated? is your GD still active? I thought that if you have lots of cleaning done then it can halt the progression. Can I ask how long you have had GD? Have you have any other health issue linked to it? Heart disease/ arthritis etc? (sorry - so many questions!)
I would do anything to be rid of this! Even if you could have all your teeth taken out, the GD would remain. How depressing.