Anxious about gum disease

[neeeki]

hi. i’ve had twin block braces for a few months and i’ve had so many problems with them, and at my last dentist appointment they said they saw swelling in my gums and told me how to treat it. i did what they told me to do and it was looking good but i have now developed a major gum recession in my back teeth (luckily no wobbly ones yet) and i’m pretty sure it’s gum disease. i’m going to see the dentist in a little less than a week and i’m really anxious - i know that at this point it isn’t reversible and i don’t want to live with gum disease. i feel so ashamed about it and i’ve been doing a lot of research (bad idea, i know). any advice? :)

You should of course go with your dentist's advise.

My tip for trying to do something yourself is rinse with coconut oil. It sounds crazy, but when my gums were not good, I tried it. Even my dentist saw a difference after a little while. You take a teaspoon of the oil and flush it vigorously for 15-20 min. (got to train to get to that amount of time). Three times a week atleast, don't flush it, spit it out in paper and bin it or it will block your drains. Do it while showering or something.

I don't know if it's the massage, the enzymes in the oil or whatever but it changed something.

You can laugh or not, but atleast it's something you can try yourself easily.

Oh and have a separate toothbrush to rinse with water after the oil.

Just listen to the dentist and maybe book in for a deep clean. Don’t be ashamed - I have gum disease and they’ve said repeatedly that its probably genetic / age and cleaning is fine. Once you’ve had a deep clean (usually with a local and often broken into different appointments) then just do your stuff with cleaning etc and it will get rid of the inflammation and make your gums a bit better , then stop it getting any worse. Your dentist or hygenist will tell you areas / techniques to focus on. I’ve been managing it for probably 7 years and its loads better than before.