Calling all fellow dentally challenged mumsnetters.

[Tolkienista]

Not sure why I'm writing this but I'm at a low edge with my very strict dental cleaning regime. I'm 66 years old, under a periodontist since 2002, a dentist and four monthly appointments with a hygienist.
I use an electric toothbrush, interdental brushes & dental tape at night.
Do I enjoy it ? No.
I find that each night I'm dragging myself through it, but I know with gum disease, it's an ongoing battle and I have to see it through. There's no half way measures, it is what it is & has to be done properly.

So I guess that I'm looking for fellow dentally challenged mumsnetters who get where I'm at and why I feel that enough is never enough & that there's always more to do.
Please share your thoughts, experiences and anything that can lift me out of this temporary dip that I'm currently feeling.
Thank you.

Apart from the frequent hygienist appointments, isn't the rest just the basic normal routine for everyone?

No.

I thought I’d reply because I think I can sympathise with the godawful burden of having rubbish teeth. They do say genetics play a part, so I’m not going to totally blame myself for the way mine are, but my eating disorder as a teen did not help… am now 40 and my teeth have a gazillion fillings / root canals, which continued to crop up through my 20s and 30s despite the fact that my ED finished in my early 20s and I thought I’d (otherwise) always looked after my teeth properly. I now have a similar regime to yours and despair of how receded my gums have got and also now some of the fillings I got when I was 20 are starting to fail so that’s more expense and pain to go through, and probably that will just carry on! So - a handhold and sympathy. I feel Mother Nature screwed us up with these tiny weird non-bones in our mouths that need so much looking after and can’t repair themselves. It sucks.

My mum who had periodontal problems has turned her gum disease around using lots of xylitol, she's constantly sucking xylitol mints and swilling with xylitol. She (and her dentist) is amazed at the huge difference it has made. She swears by the book 'Kiss your dentist goodbye', it's on Amazon. Worth a read maybe so you don't just feel caught on the merry-go-round.

@Popskipiekin that's the message I needed to read.
You've perfectly encapsulated what it's like to have dental/ gum problems & your final words reflect how I'm feeling at the moment....."it sucks"

Change to a water flosser but still use interdontal brushes. It really makes a difference and is quicker than tape.

Floss then mouthwash then breakfast then wait 30 minutes before brushing teeth. Similar late at night. I floss and wash after dinner then brush at bedtime.

Interesting post and I will look that up.
Thanks.

@JurassicPark4Eva
Yes you're so right.......it is nothing like a normal routine.
You have to be in it to know how exacting it is.

I'm kind of in a state of low grade despair about my teeth. My problem is tooth grinding, it's been a problem for decades and my teeth just keep on wearing away. I do everything I'm told to do, wear a (horrible) mouth guard every night, and.... just gets worse. I go to the dentist every six months and she tuts and looks disapproving (she doesn't have a great bedside manner, but she's NHS so I'm kind of stuck with her).

So no answers but a lot of sympathy!

I hate using interdental brushes etc but I've found if I put a YouTube video or something on my phone while I'm doing it, it's a bit more enjoyable!

@Totallymessed I grind, have done for years

It's out of my budget but Botox has great reviews for grinding. I also swapped and wear a lower mouthguard which I much prefer to the upper one

My sympathy goes to you too.
I've never had an issue with tooth grinding , but I empathise with the doing everything you're supposed to but getting tuts from (in my case) my hygienist.
Overall I get great feedback from my dental team, that I'm doing a good job, but there's always a little extra to add to my cleaning regime.

Actually, I'm not too fussed about them.
I've got quite a range, but I'm very aware that they're an important part of the overall cleaning process so I don't mind that part at all.

I feel your pain, literally.
I also have dental issues and spend a lot of time cleaning my teeth, water flossed, dental brushes, then mouthwash, then electric toothbrush with Corsodil toothpaste.
Dental treatment when I was a child was back in the dark ages. I’ve paid for private treatment for over 30 years despite that some of those dentist have not been good. I suspect done work that was not necessary or even detrimental.
I’m putting my trust in a newly qualified dentist who seems to be keen to save my teeth.

It is exactly as you said OP. I do the morning and evening routine, with electric toothbrush, interdental brushes, single tuft brushes with Gingigel and I’m so tired of it. Every time I see a different hygienist, they tell me to use something different. It’s been so many different interdental brushes, mouthwash, tape, disclosing tablets and so on.

Next week, it will be another different one and they’ll no doubt tell me something different. I shall say that I can’t afford to keep buying things and then being told to get something different.

Had great teeth young and until my late twenties - first filling - that was a downer. I looked after them and was pretty proud of my smile. Then it started to go downhill. My cleaning regimen got more intense, and my teeth seem to get worse and worse. I had a horrible time during lock-down. Had totally given up, and then got some work done. Then at one checkup, the dentist was like, you are doing well, nothing to do, off you trot. And yet I am aware of my teeth for pretty much all waking hours. I get a small window of reprieve after a thorough clean. Any meals/eating are just miserable. My mouth aches most of the day. And for the last week or so it has just gotten rotten. Not sure if it's exposed roots and the cold. But it's just miserable. And it can make me almost suicidal and irrational. I frequently dream of getting them all pulled out just for some peace. I probably have another 20 years if I am lucky, and yet my teeth will no doubt get worse and worse. It feels to me like I'm spending an hour a day on them. Though I am sure I don't. If I neglect to clean them thoroughly for a day or so, it's just miserable and the lingering discomfort just worsens. So I'm totally hearing you!

I'm 58 have shit teeth, l have given up now. I have two plates top and bottom. They are fine, l expect when my remainong teeth get loose l will have full false teeth..to be honest its better than dealing with crap teeth. Which l have been doing since l was a teenager.

No.

I just brush my teeth well twice a day with a plastic toothbrush.

Probably tried it but worth a mention........have you tried sensoďyne rapid relief/pain relief toothpaste, its a bit expensive but lasts well. If I use a normal one for a few days the sensitivity to cold weather etc comes back.

Solidarity OP
I floss after every meal, I use an electric toothbrush and I have prescription Duraphat toothpaste. My teeth are crap. My guns are receding, I had an old filling replaced 2 weeks ago and the new one is still twinging...and on Tuesday I start prep work for a bridge. After that there is another old filling that has deteriorated and I think will need a crown or eventually removing . My teeth look ok but they are just one long dental trip.

Patient: Do I have to floss ALL my teeth?
Dentist: No, of course not - only the ones you wish to keep!

Very similar to me, but I've lost so many teeth, I'm now in the position that I dread losing any more.

@Bluevelvetsofa i literally could have written your post......I too am using a tufty brush for one of my wisdom teeth & at my last hygienist appointment was advised to use disclosing tablets too.
My tipping.point came in September when I had a crown replaced from 2009 that has brought up sensitivity issues.
I've now got a prescribed toothpaste that I have to apply after brushing on an interdental brush between two teeth.
It's just never ending.

@Sonolanona i literally feel your pain.
It's so disheartening when you are doing your best.
Thanks for your post.

Absolutely not!

OP, I do feel your pain and frustration. I've tried all sorts of things with my teeth. I've never got on with floss so that's a non starter. I've tried interdental toothpicks which I hate and just cannot get the hang of around my molars and wisdom teeth. I almost dropped one down my throat recently so that was scary and I stopped trying with them.

I use an electric toothbrush twice a day and I do have some long handled and angled interdental brushes, which are better than the small ones and the toothpicks.

I've just bought myself an electric water flosser in the black Friday sales and had my first go with it this morning. It was fun. I think I did manage to do some better tooth cleaning. I did also manage to shower myself down my t-shirt with the jet from it too, so I need to build up the knackered of water flossing and staying dry. 🤣🤣

My next hygienist appointment is in May (last one was a couple of weeks ago. I think I might change it to just an inspection though. My teeth are so sensitive that I have to have them numbed by the dentist first, otherwise I just can't abide them being scraped or touched. I can hardly bear the dentist's needle either though. I am not particularly needle phobic (don't like them, obviously, but can get along with it if I must), but I am now finding myself pretty phobic of that one.

I'm hoping the water flosser helps me enough. Plus my electric toothbrush.