Teeth and receding gums

[ChablisLover]

any dentists out there?

I have receding gums and one tooth looks quite bad

what can i do?

have made appointment at dentist but am worried sick the tooth will fall out

What can be done to prevent this?

Would you believe it - My dentist was ill and cancelled! so rescheduled for early next week where I will update after.

Oh no, it's always when you want to go to an appointment something happens.

Bugger - was hoping for some useful advice, never had bleeding gums, but they are definately receeding

Is it easy to find Duraphat ?

Where do you get yours ? If you do ,IYSWIM .

I have this! Dentist says that its just years of over-zealous scrubbing (why did nobody warn me!!).

He suggested getting an electric brush with a gentle setting and sensors to flash when too hard. Use floss and see the hygenist a couple to times a year to keep an eye on it.

Yes, you can get grafts but he pulled a wee face that made me think : sore+expensive+not worth it really.

And thus yet another of life's mysteries is solved: you really do get 'long in the tooth'.

Now off to teach an old dog a new trick!

You know what Moomin I can distinctly remember being told by a dentist that if your gums bleed you need to brush harder ,for at least
12 minutes !!!

And my friend ,who is retirement age like me , remembers similar exhortations to brush longer and harder .

Eek! My dentist is on the ball (hopefully). He also said to use one of those strengthening toothpastes and mouthwashes.

You can buy it from the dentist ginger, I think I paid about £5 for it.

Water jet 'flossers' are brilliant. I have one, no gum problems. My mother has one and now her gum pockets are hardly there.

Thanks brush ( do you think you should change your name )

I've often wondered about water flossers ,good to hear feedback .

Just want to add - if any of you are smokers, then you need to stop as that really does make your gums recede. I quit just as it was starting to make a difference, and I'm very glad I did.

I use Duraphat (you can sometimes find it on amazon) and have a fluoride varnish put on every time I go to the dentist. Never rinse after brushing or brush straight after food either but still have crappy enamel that stains easily

They don't set it.. Not sure, it's an orange varnish they put on

It's a prescription only medicine. Theduraphat toothpaste and the varnish.

What circumstances/conditions would duraphat be prescribed for MrsMorton ?

Would it be appropriate for receeding gums /bone loss ?

mirai You can fill water jet with luke warm water. You can also put a bit of mouthwash in the water. All I can say is I can floss (with tape/ordinary floss) then water jet will still take out more debris. Like the difference between washing and scraping plates I imagine.

The varnish helps to prevent the development of decay and can help remineralise teeth that have early decay. Should be applied six monthly by dentist/hygienist/trained dental nurse.

The toothpaste is good for people with high rates of decay, dry mouths (due to salivary gland disease, some medications, radioation therapy to face) mental/physical difficulties which prevent good oral hygiene, patients who are on high sugar diets for medical reasons, those who take methadone for example.
No massive indication for receding gums except that roots can be more likely to decay, if you have low decay anyway, the roots won't be particularly vulnerable. If you have a high rate of new decay then the roots will be very likely to begin to decay.

Thanks for that MrsMorton .

Mmmm I wonder if the toothpaste would be a good idea for me .I'm on chemo therapy and have a mouth like a desert no matter how much I drink .
And the things that help when I feel nauseous are all bad for my teeth - dolly mixtures ,ginger chews .
Plus I gag if I'm not careful when brushing my teeth ,plus I'm sure the op to remove my oesphageous this summer is going to mean even more in the way of a dry mouth and poor oral care . Though I wont be eating or drinking so perhaps it'll be ok .

My dentist knows I'm on chemo but he didn't make any suggestions as to anything else I can do ,other than inter dental brushes which I do anyway .

The dentist once tried the water jet on my teeth and had to peel me down off the ceiling.

CPtart gosh , guessing it was really painful then ?

It's hard to know what to do isn't it ?

ginger you sound like you're going through it at present. I'm sorry for your woes. Are you having radiotherapy? Do you use anything to help with your saliva? I would highly recommend the fluoride toothpaste. You can buy fluoriguard mouthwash OTC which is also good.
The charmer with any toothpaste is to "spit don't rinse" to let it sit on your teeth for as long as possible. Otherwise it's like putting sunscreen on and washing it all off again.

My grandmother has oesophageal cancer, I'm not sure if that's what you have? [frantically scrolls through thread on phone] in any case, you may warrant a referral to special care dentistry or a restorative consultant. Please ask if you have any more questions.

You can get different nozzles on water jets. Some and gentle, some less so. The wider nozzles are more gentle.