Anyone else had experience with gum disease / bone loss that is fixable and how?

[JKDcot]

I’m 40, I brush, floss, don’t smoke and don’t eat much sugar. My gum disease and bone loss is intense - despite regular deep cleans and thousands of pounds spent at dentists.

now I’m in constant pain, major sensitivity with eating cold or hot food and I’m so self conscious about talking I’ve lost all my confidence.

I am just at a loss what to do? I have tried and spent time and money but nothing works?

has anyone had their teeth removed and just gone with dentures? Does that stop the pain? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

When you have scale/polish do they get under the gum line? Have bone loss to about 60% in one area and gum recession due to lots of unavoidable dental/jaw surgery and am 40. I started to get a wobble in one tooth and it was due to build up under the gum line.

I was numbed up for an intense clean and the tooth over about six to nine months firmed up. They repeat every three months. I still don't put any pressure at all on it and clean with interdental brushes as well and normal brush/floss.

Thank you for sharing your example. Yes I’ve had that done multiple times. But generally the gum disease just comes back? and gets worse. Never better?

Will you have it deep cleaned every 3 months forever? It can’t be this hard?

My DH has always had tooth and gum trouble and recently was told he needed specialist treatment for his gums involving awful sounding stuff like building up the bone, implants and so on.

I had read somewhere about the importance of probiotics for gum health, they now know that gum health is important for the immune system and heart health as well as teeth. I was already taking an incredibly good probiotic supplement for my guts from a company called Bulk.com (www.bulk.com/uk/complete-bio-culture.html )
but you could do your own research (lots out there) about specific useful bacteria, eg.

Probiotic bacteria derived from the genera Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, and Weissella are found to play an effective role in the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases. www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.806463/full

I made sure he took these every day and I suggested that maybe marine collagen would make a difference because collagen builds bone, we both take it for skin and the results are amazing.

He took these supplements for a couple of months and when he went back the hygienist was impressed at the change in his oral health and said he didn't need the work that had been recommended. So he is signed off. This may not be what you want to hear but it is always worth doing your own research I think and dentistry is a profession that has got a lot wrong over the years (some of us have teeth full of fillings as a result!!). Worth a try, good luck.

I’ve had to have implants due to an accident and lost bone and gum in the accident so I’ve had gum and bone graft to build it all back up so I assume you will have to have the same or a similar surgery 👍

@Ineedwinenow thank you for sharing your story. Has it worked well and you aren’t lisping? You have your mouth looking normal? Sorry to ask I’m just nervous.

@notsosoftanymore thank you also for your advice that’s great and I will start probiotics defiitely

Thank you so much for this post ♥️

I’m still on the mend! I’m 6 weeks in and it should take 12 weeks! My new gum is healed but the new bone is still healing! I was on a limited soft diet for a couple of weeks and now introduced food but cut up into tiny bits and places at the back of my mouth ( my operation was on my front teeth) I was badly swollen but I look relatively normal now, I have good and bad days but it’s not that bad to be honest! I look much better than I did!

I am the same as you and unfortunately I am saving up for implants as I think they are inevitable.

I do like my water flosser in addition to my tepe brushes.

I lost a bottom, front tooth due to bone loss - all stemming from having my tongue pierced and the best thing I've found for my receeding gums is brushing or pulling with coconut oil.

Watching with interest. I’m in the same boat - chronic periodontitis, receding gums, deep periodontal pockets and not a minutes rest each day from the worry of losing my teeth. I take vitamin C, coq10, vitamin B12 and vitamin E every day. Recently started to use a Waterpik which seems to help (posted on Mumsnet today about this!) I rinse with Gengigel twice a day and occasionally swill with coconut oil. I’m desperate to find a way of dealing with my chronic gum disease as the worry is taking over my whole life. All the best for any fellow sufferers!

I had aggressive gum disease in my late teens/early twenties. Bone loss about 30%. I’m feeling particularly miserable about it at the moment because of how it looks but it has been fairly stable/inactive for over 20 years pretty much apart from a blip in Covid as I couldn’t visit a hygienist, it’s scary how quickly and dramatically my immune system overreacts to any plaque.

When I was first diagnosed I had to have 2 rounds of deep cleaning beneath the gum line. I have hygiene appts every 6 months. It’s such a crap disease, I cried about it today. I get so jealous of people with lovely gums, like my husband who smokes and hasn’t visited a dentist in 15 years! Bastard.

After my Covid blip I had to have hygienist visits every 3 months until it stabilised again.

@Moonriver79 and @BillStickersIsInnocent I’m so sorry to hear you’re both in the exact same boat as me. Every day this impacts me both with self conscious anxiety due to speaking and pain due to sensitivity. I know any illness is unfair and there is so much worse out there. But I just feel every dentist I see has no solutions or plan?? It’s just keep getting them cleaned.

i think I just want them all removed and to ask for dentures? It’s such a miserable feeling.

Has anyone considered/tried Botox injections in jaw to stop clenching? I know I clench and that is bad…

Sorry another question to the group! Does anyone else feel so self conscious speaking now? I’ve developed social anxiety as I’m so aware of the gaps in my teeth and air / saliva coming through when I speak. It’s causing real issues for me at work I just can’t talk??

Can you post a picture so we can can how advanced it is?

OP, are you diabetic?

And also, have you actually seen a specialist periodontist rather than a high street general dentist?

Following as my front lower gum is receding at a rapid rate and have not been able to get into a NHS dentist since I left the army last year. I knew I should have pushed them for treatment before I got out!

I’m not diabetic but my dad and uncle are… they both suffer with gum disease also. I’ve seen periodontists not general dentists. But the ones I have seen all recommend the same… constant deep cleans. No options to restore or reconstruct lost bone or gum?

Is your periodontitis stable or unstable OP? You would have to be stable before anything like gingival veneers could be considered.
I'm assuming you have black triangles OP? Or is the hypersensitivity that's your main concern?
Have you been prescribed 5000ppmF Duraphat toothpaste?

@Sux217 thank you for your post. This is the problem. Despite multiple rounds of deep cleans no one says it’s stable and therefore I can’t get and reconstructive work done. Then the deep cleans just leave me
in more pain and sensitivity. It just seems to be a circular nightmare.

i can commit the time and money to fix it but I just can’t seem to get a plan?!

I’m exactly the same - before this I had the most beautiful teeth and people used to always comment on how lovely my smile was, now I hide behind my had self-consciously oh and I also when I speak sometimes which is awful and I have developed such terrible social anxiety.

I was advised by my "high street" hygienist that if I could not stabilise the gum disease with flossing/brushing at home they would refer me to a "consultant" gum disease specialist.

Thankfully it's not come to that but I am resigned to paying £25/mth for my 3/monthly hygienist appointments and probably the similar on plaque tablets and tepe brushes.

I do get some money back in free toothpaste samples though!