Gum disease - BPE score 3

[ForeverBaffled]

Just looking for a bit of advice about gum disease.

I saw my dentist today and in the space of 12 months my gums have gone from healthy to varying ?pocket scores of 1-3 (mainly 3s). Dentist put this down to a combination of breastfeeding, genes, my diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos and stress. I’ve been booked in for two treatments with the hygienist but he mentioned several times how concerned he was and potential referrals to specialists if we can’t get it under control. I have slight gum recession over one front tooth and some bleeding on brushing (I’ve had this on and off my whole life.)

I struggle with health anxiety and I’m feeling quite overwhelmed by this and the implications. Can I ask if anyone has had similar - can I halt this and undo the damage? I’m obvious committed to sorting this out (I don’t smoke and rarely eat sugar, teeth are otherwise great and I have no fillings etc. I’m 36.)

Thanks!

halt it - yes.
reversing receeding very unlikely

how is you vitamin d3 going? low levels might have an effect on inflammation.

Thank you! I definitely will start with some vitamin D tablets.

I can cope with the gum recession if it doesn’t get any worse (it’s minimal and only in one place) but pleased to hear the disease can be halted. Is a score of 3 particularly awful?

The numbers are millimetres of depth of each gum pocket and 3 is the worst of reversible gum disease. However! From 4 is when it gets to periodontitis stage which is where teeth start to become loose etc. Basically you have gingivitis atm but you have caugh it just in time as it is reversible so don't worry too much.

How can you reverse it? I had my check the other day and I could here 2s and 3s aplenty but my dentist seems to think it is a lot better (sorry for hijacking OP)

You can reverse the depth of gum pockets by having a professional clean, you cannot reverse recession though, only stop it getting worse with regular cleaning at home and at the dentist

Thank you. I do have a regular clean and I use an electric toothbrush and interdental brushes. My gums rarely bleed any more so I guess I'm doing something right.

Firstly gum recession is not gum disease. Gum disease is inflammation of your gums and then surrounding tissues including bone, you lose the bone holding in your teeth but gum recession is just a natural part of aging.

BPEs of 3 doesn't mean much, you need a full perio chart to be able to say more tbh. And I would want xrays.

With a 3 it could just be some inflammation, and most likely is if you had healthy gums a year ago. Inflammation is entirely reversible, its bone loss thats not. Xrays would show whether you've lost any bone, a BPE doesn't tell us anything about your bone however I think it unlikely that with healthy gums a year ago you would have lost a significant amount of bone

It's just going to be a case of treatment with the hygenist, and then working on your oral hygiene. The hygienist will help teach you the correct techniques and come up with a proper regime for you. It should be entirely fixable at this stage

I just had the same - what a shock! My teeth have always been ‘boring’ according to my dentist but thinks I’ve been so stressed for a while that I’m just gritting then away!

The hygienist really made her money and gave them a good clean, and advised electric brush and flossing at least once a day. Keep it all squeaky clean for 3 months then see how we go (or big scary threat so I’m being a very good Fekko dentally).

I can’t get in with those tiny wee brushes- even the smallest is too thick to get in between my teeth.

BPE doesn't refer to pocket depth in millimetres but is a scoring system

0 perfect, 1, some plaque a little bleeding on probing, 2 some calculus no pockets deeper than 3.5mm
3 calculus bleeding pockets no deeper than 5.5mm this is the danger point of moving to established periodontal disease if not treated
4 pockets over 5.5mm, calculus below gum level sometimes tooth mobility

For the OP a score of 3 is generally treatable and mild recession causes most people few problems but for some it leads to increased sensitivity to cold things

Thank you all so much for your responses. Seems like I’ve hopefully caught it as at manageable stage (but I will request x-rays to see whether there is any bone loss) and if I up my game a bit oral hygiene wise that might prevent any further development. My gums often do get inflamed at certain points in my menstrual cycle (like right now) so wonder if that might have influenced things yesterday too.

Thanks again everyone and good luck @LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD and @Northernsoullover hopefully we can get on top of this.

😁😁😁

Are you diabetic? Is there a family history of gum problems & early tooth loss?
These are also risk factors for periodontitis. If you've only just scored Code 3s on BPE you should have debridement and intensive oral hygiene intervention with plaque & bleeding scores recorded; with the aim of having plaque scores beneath 30% to have any chance of stabilisation.
The next phase is 8 to 12 weeks review
with a full 6 point pocket chart and root surface debridement, as needed.
If you are a regular attender, you should definitely have had a set of routine radiographs (bitewings) within the past 2 years. Your dentist should be able to work out your horizontal bone loss, grading & staging & risk factors from all the aforementioned information.
It may be best to let your dentist refer to a specialist Periodontist, information is power after all.

Thanks @katielilly! No, I’m not diabetic but my dad had terrible tooth loss in his 40s... but he was a smoker so assumed it was that.

I had bitewings about a year ago so hopefully can use that to make some comparisons. I’ll push for a specialist referral if no improvements are made. Thank you for your advice.

Thank you Forever I've seen good reviews about a product called Genigel too. I haven't tried it yet because its £££ but I'm going to treat myself. If it works it'll be a small price to pay.

Thanks for the tip @Northernsoullover I just had a google and it looks good :) I’m seeing the hygienist on Tuesday for the first of two appointments so I’ll let you know if she has any other good suggestions. Feeling much better about it now as seems I have time to turn the situation around (at least partially). Going to get an electric toothbrush with a pressure sensor in the sales too as suggested by my dentist.

Ask your hygienist to size you up for TePe brushes, and in the meantime, google the modified bass technique and start brushing your teeth that way.
Regarding mouthwash:
Never mouthwash after toothbrushing with 1450/1500 ppmF toothpaste, just spit. Mouthwashes don't really play a part in effective periodontal treatment and maintenance.
It's all about your toothbrushing & interproximal cleaning techniques in conjunction with debridement ( including root surface) with your dental professional.
Good luck

Thank you again @katielilly, that’s excellent advice.

I had my first appointment today. She took measurements of my gums (6 measurements for each tooth - scored a range of 0-5mm pockets across my mouth) and she took x-rays (no bone loss at front of mouth, 10% bone loss on some of my back teeth.) She was lovely and really reassuring about how we can get on top of this together.

Back tomorrow for the proper treatment! She will size me for TePe brushes afterwards.

I know this is an old post.. but how are you getting on now? Did you manage to stabilise things?