Any dentists about? dh in a terrible panic about gum disease / losing tooth... help!

[Fairylea]

Obviously we will be getting him a dental appointment for early next week. Just wanted some opinions hopefully to calm him down....

Dh noticed a few days ago that right at the back of his mouth between the two back teeth there seems to be a really red sort of hole / small pocket which bleeds when he brushes and seems to collect food in it.

He says it is painful to bite down on it and he has recently had another tooth out further down near the front due to decay etc so he doesn't know if it's just his teeth moving about a bit - tooth was removed about 4 months ago. Healed ok.

He has been Googling and he thinks he has gum disease at the back. He feels awful because he knows he doesn't brush his teeth as well as he should (he doesn't have bad breath though).

He is very worried he is going to lose another tooth. I am saying that that will be a last resort ... I hope! I'm right aren't I? What is the usual treatment for gum disease??

He's practically crying he's so scared of the dentist :(

Thanks in advance. He's learnt his lesson re tooth brushing etc !

Not a dentist but I've found corsodyl mouthwash very effective with gum issues,may help until dentist - hopefully someone with better teeth knowledge will be along soon!

Thank you little ball. ..Unfortunately (meant to put this in op sorry!) Dh had a severe allergic reaction to corsodyl (literally couldn't breathe!) But he does have the colegate gum problem mouthwash which he is using at the moment.

He has been fiddling about with the tooth all day to the point of flossing and sticking tooth picks down it! I've told him to leave it alone as he is surely making it worse but he is in a total panic!,

Flossing is good. Obviously he needs to see the dentist, but I can't imagine any gum disease will have got irretrievably bad in 4 months (as presumably the dentist checked all his teeth fairly recently if he's been having treatment).

I think (only from what I know as a layman/patient with not-so-great dental hygiene habits so I get reminded to floss by the dentist on a regular basis) that if you ignore gum disease for long enough it can lead to erosion of the bone, hence tooth loss. Good brushing, regular flossing, maybe seeing a hygienist for a really good clean can help if the gums are looking a bit dodgy.

Thanks sleepy. Good point about the dentist noticing it at the previous appointment. I will tell dh that and hopefully that might help him a bit. I'll also tell him the flossing etc is ok.

I'm really struggling with trying to calm him down because he has quite severe health anxiety anyway and this latest tooth thing seems to be causing him a lot of distress. :(

I think he's worried all his teeth are rotten and going to need taking out. I really don't think that's going to happen!

He needs to stop poking it! Better to leave it well alone now there's an open bit. If his teeth have moved a bit it may just be a bit of skin that has come a bit loose and some food or bacteria have got in and caused a bit of an infection. I had a gum infection a while back and it was very painful, it was at the front though, there was no hole but the gum was very inflamed and had sort of peeled back from the bottom of my tooth. The dentist prescribed antibiotics and it went away.

Whenever I have mouth issues of any mind I gargle with salt water, that might help if there's an infection. I dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a splash of boiling water and then add cold until it's a drinkable temperature. I have no idea if this is medically advisable!

Thanks run run.. I'll let him read the replies and hopefully he might manage until Monday without poking it out himself!

If he can't use get him to use hot salt water mouthwashes. Get him to take a mouthful then hold it in the area that is sore for a minute before spitting out it is more effective used this way.
It may be an isolated gum infection but it is an indication that he needs to clean more often. Brushing is the most effective way of cleaning teeth.
Keep him away from google.

I have gum disease and was in tears when I found out.
No advice really but from my snooping around the net I've heard upping vitamin c intake can really help.
I've also been oil pulling and drinking a pint of milk (not suggested by anyone, I just thought it might help my bad teeth) both of which seem to help.
Also an electric toothbrush if he hasn't already got one, mouthwash with plenty of flouride in between brushes and interdental brushes recommended by dentist.
My dentist prescribed a toothpaste for me and the treatment was injecting corsodyl into gums so obviously they will have to find something else. But apparently my gums have improved so if he has got it, he can improve it.
There are much worse things that can happen but it is a bit of a shock so he has my sympathy.

I have impacted wisdom teeth and the gums swell up around them quite a bit on occasion. This sometimes means when I'm cleaning them it causes them to bleed. Could this be the same? It needs a wash out by the dentist and sometimes antibiotics to clear it.

Thank you everyone for the replies. Much appreciated and reassuring.

Dh has managed to arrange a day off work tomorrow so hopefully he can get an appointment with a dentist then. I've never seen him so worried :( admittedly his teeth do look quite bad at the back but no worse than they were when he last went to the dentist to have the other tooth extracted... well to me anyway. (Reached a whole new level of intimacy staring into his mouth having a good butchers!)

Fingers crossed it can be sorted.