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.

Great thread. This year included wisdom out, absess on top molar that came out. Went this week again. While gums not great he said continue doing good brushing. Overall they ok he thought. Really got me down this year endless antibiotics. Im using sensodyne friend swears by it

I've upgraded my electric toothbrush and noticed the difference
A hygienist said the battery becomes less efficient(?) over time so it's not as good
I wasn't sure but Black Friday offers... I can see the difference on my teeth, and I thought my old one was doing a good job!

@fivebyfivebuffy that's really interesting, I never knew that .
Can you publicly share what you've upgraded your brush to?
If not send me a private message.
Thanks.

@Mary46 I'm so pleased I started this thread.
I really was at a low with my teeth, but now I feel much more upbeat with so many other people sharing their experiences.
Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to add their dental story.

Yes of course, I had a genius oral b before and I've gone for the iob oral b 7.. I'll try and find what the hygienist said as I wrote it down.. somewhere!

Just a public service announcement for those of you using xylitol - I can’t comment on its value for dental issues, but it’s very, very toxic for dogs (I’m a vet). If any of you have a dog, please keep any xylitol gum etc well away from them!

Found it!

The io4 in particular . Any brushes numbered above 4 in this range have the same speed, oscillations and sonic action so unless you are looking for any added extras like a different colour handle/ storage box for brush heads/ charging travel case , blue tooth technology to track yr brushing habits etc etc you are just wasting money
If it’s more than 4 years old the battery will be waning and it won’t be oscillating at the correct speed

Hi @Tolkienista .
good questions .
what percentage of my patients go home and follow my advice to the letter , probably less than 2/3rd sadly . I think believing that even 1 in 3 of my patients clean with an Electric brush twice a day for 2 mins and cleans between all their teeth x1 a day is optimistic . About half my patients probably do a version of my advised routine but only a minority follow it religiously.

Do men get more gum disease than women ? Statistics say yes they do but my experience leads me to believe it’s pretty much 50/50 . Maybe 55 ( men ) 45 women .

Is there a part of your daily Oral hygiene routine that must not be dropped ?
brushing and interdental cleaning are as important as each other. One is not enough without the other. There is even a study that concludes that if you do not clean interdentally everyday you may as well not bother at all. What this means is that cleaning interdentally only a few times a week is as bad for your gums as not doing it at all . I agree with this .

Notice I say “ cleaning interdentally “ and not specifically how you do it . How you remove plaque from between your teeth is a bit of how you prefer to do it and what advice you have been given.

If you brush with a decent electric brush for 2 mins twice a day and clean in between at least once a day your gums are likely to get healthy .

Things I don’t recommend - mouthwash and water flossers . These don’t have enough friction to remove plaque . Plaque is not just sticky , it literally glues and anchors itself to the tooth surface and once it’s mature , only friction can remove it .

I don’t recommend that proper full interdental cleaning is done twice a day . If done well , once is enough . ( unless you have a bit of food stuck then go ahead with a bit of spot cleaning ). The rational behind brushing twice a day is to get exposure to fluoride , which is especially important before bed and before breakfast .

interesting facts . Poor gum health may affect our bodies in ways we never imagined . For example , heart disease , dementia, low birth weights , obiesity , kidney disease …. The list is endless . There is even a current study that is finding people who suffered the worst effects of covid also had statistically significant gum disease . The reason for this is quite simple when you think about it. So many pathogens ( organisms that cause disease ) enter our bodies via our mouths. If the gums are inflamed the Passage of these disease causing organisms straight into blood stream is so much easier .

Dental plaque is a highly intelligent, highly organised bacteria mass . The different bacteria are co dependent and communicate with each other to ensure their best possible outcome for survival on your teeth . There are also studies that suggest bacteria can directly communicate with our brains to further their own ends . Another interesting Google rabbit hole for when you have nothing else to do .

anyhow , that’s probably enough from me for now . Thanks for reading. X

I get it OP, people who don't have issues with their teeth don't know how lucky they are. I hate the dentist, I even sweat when I take the kids for check ups and I'm not getting in the chair, but I make myself go religiously and get through treatment by telling myself that it's not as bad as childbirth. I've had two teeth out under sedation though, no way in hell I can be awake for an extraction after trauma in the chair as a child. I'm due a check up soon and I know I'll go in expecting there to be something else wrong.

@TheDefiant - I also have sensitive teeth. My NHS dentist prescribed a high fluoride toothpaste (Dyraphat) which has made them slightly less sensitive. Worth asking if yours will prescribe it.

*Duraphat

I don't have any practical advice to offer OP and, so far, I haven't faced the difficulties shared on these thread.
Very interesting points here.
I am fanatical about oral health (a few dentists in the family over two generations) and I hope and pray not to develop serious issues later on. So I try and read what I can about this topic to keep myself informed on this topic.
One tip my dentist shared with me once, is that you can dip the interdental brush in toothpaste before using it (if you use such a tool that is) and obviously never force it between teeth.
But what I really, really wanted to share with you all, is a podcast I listened to recently. Although some of the information was not new to me, there was a lot of other very, very interesting stuff. Along the lines of @Souredgrapes comments.
I don't know how to put a link on here but this is a screenshot of the episode title to help find, it if anyone would like to listen.

@Souredgrapes Brilliant advice.
So glad you've posted this, because I'm saying yes I do that and yes I do that and oh I do that too.
I picked up early on that interdental brushing was really important, so I've stuck to that religiously however tired I am at the end of the day.
I haven't used mouthwash for many years.
As for water flossers , didn't want to add another piece of electrical equipment and thought I'd stick to my tried and tested dental tape.

I've often wondered how long it would take for my mouth to implode if I stopped all that I do. After reading your post that's never going to happen!
Scary stuff.

@StanfreyPock great post.
I'm really glad I started this because now I definitely don't feel on my own.
Thanks for your positivity.

@Souredgrapes just one more thing...... looking back at my questions to you. I asked about compliance.
Are women better at following your instructions than men?
Or am I being sexist in asking that question.
It's just that all the men I know, have a very very minimal dental regime.

This is a really interesting thread. Thanks for starting it @Tolkienista

I'm weak of teeth and seem to have endless conversations about going to the dentist. I've cracked 5 and lost one in 5 years. Although one was the same tooth cracked twice.

Thankfully my dentist is the most awesome person and NHS dentist who does implants - had one last year

I found the oral b iO4 much better than other models personally although I'd have got the one with brushing coverage which it bought was on all of them

I also love the waterpik. Followed by a tepe Occasionally an orange floss stick thing

I've just upgraded to the long handled tepes

Do I not need the mouthwash then for gum disease?

Ive lost 2 teeth Im in my 50s grinding hasnt helped. But he was positive this week. Interesting no mouthwash did not know that. My mouth dry in menopause feel that doesnt help either

Thanks op very helpful thread

Ah! Here are my people.

This thread is very timely for me- I have been thinking about little other than the state of my teeth for the last few weeks.

Genetically, the odds were stacked against me as both of my parents had problematic teeth (one was an avid sugar fan, the other definitely not).

I am a sugar fan. Plus I drink Diet Coke- quite a lot of it. And I smoked like a chimney for 20 years. And I was sick a lot in my 20s (eating disorder + binge drinking).

So my teeth are fucked. Surprisingly, my smile doesn't look that awful, although certainly isn't a Hollywood smile. But I have loads^ of fillings and a couple of gold crowns. Had several root fillings about 15^ or so years ago. All have now failed and I was offered the option to have them redone but was told success rate is only around 65% for a re-root. I had one redone but it was a long-winded and expensive process so I've opted for extractions for the other failed root fillings. I had one extracted a couple of years ago, one out two weeks ago and am waiting for an appointment to remove the third one. Now contemplating selling a kidney to pay for implants 😂

One is quite far back so I will probably leave a gap there. The other two are further forward and right next to each other so keen to get that gap filled so as to avoid looking like a meth addict. Just hoping I don't have to have the bone graft and that my jaw is sturdy enough for the screws.

As for regime: I brush with electric toothbrush twice a day, floss when I remember but currently can't floss at all as have an active infection (in the tooth that is soon to be evicted) and everything hurts. I see from the dental hygienist post that I should be flossing daily or may as well not bother, so I will get on it properly once my mouth is back to normal. I see the dentist twice a year and hygienist twice a year.

Meanwhile, my husband never goes to the dentist or hygienist, and doesn't floss. He has no fillings at 50 yo. We have a dentist friend who kindly gave him a check-up a year or so ago and found no problems at all. So I'm hoping our kids inherit his teeth!

I have a tooth infection as we speak which was horrendous over the weekend- swollen jaw like a hamster, and pain that had me wanting to cut my head off. The pain stopped overnight and Google suggests this might mean the nerve is now completely dead. 😐

Apart from the pain and the expense, what most irks me about it all is the shame and embarrassment about the state of my teeth, and the knowledge that I could have done a lot of things differently. But I'm in great health otherwise- fit and strong and rarely get viruses. My teeth are my weak spot! Like a PP said, I think a lot of people have one and for my DH it's respiratory- he tends to get a chest infection off the back of a cold. He's had pleurisy and pneumonia. So maybe everyone has got an Achilles heel, health-wise (though I'm aware obviously some unfortunate people have multiple!)

Sorry for an essay- like I say, the thread is very timely for me as I've been in very low mood the last few weeks- mostly due to my teeth.

Gosh, this thread is interesting & eye opening. I’m so sorry for what a lot of you have to go through & you’ve all looked after your teeth.

I’m ashamed to say, until recently, I haven’t been to a dentist in 40 years - no check ups, no hygienist, nothing. I’m mortified with myself when you lot have looked after your teeth.

Shockingly, I only needed a scale & polish. My dentist did a scan/cray & explained all about bones etc & said it’s down to genetics. He said he’s got patients 25 years younger than me where all their teeth are loose, despite looking after them.

Determined to keep up my dental visits after this thread.

@Branster . Thank you for the podcast info . I’m going to look for that now .
@Tolkienista . To answer your question , do woman follow hygienist instruction better than men ? Yes probably but again I don’t think there is a huge difference.

a casual observation I have made is that men are easier to judge from appearance as to what their oral hygiene may look like . A well groomed man will generally have good oral hygiene and an average looking bloke will have average oral hygiene and so on . But , a well groomed lady , to the point of expensive handbag, good facial aesthetics , fabulous clothing can frequently have really really poor oral hygiene . Average looking ladies can really go one way or another and it’s not easy to make an educated guess on appearance alone .

@Waitingfordoggo
I'm glad that we are your people.
A very select group may I add!
I'm in a similar position to you. My general health is excellent. I'm very fit and active, I'm 66, not on any medication at all.
Never been in hospital, thankfully never ill apart from the odd cold.....last one was three years ago, but my teeth.....well that's my Achilles heel.

@Flin
I'm so glad I did too.
Had a really difficult week & was dragging myself through my dental regime & just thought .....is anyone else going through the motions too?
Thankfully some great posts.