Teeth in mid 40s

[Stumpedasatree]

I'm not sure if this is an age-related moan, but by god my teeth are peeing me off. Aside from generally moving about since I had braces when I was in my teens so I now have a one tooth overbite, I have gum recession (now using an electric toothbrush with a pressure sensor) and absolutely every time I eat I get food stuck in between my teeth which is usually painful. This never happened when I was younger! I pretty much have to brush and use the interdental stick things every time I eat as much as an apple.

Am I alone? Other than that my teeth are generally strong and ok and reasonably white with no fillings.

I'm having this exact same problem actually. Some people suggest to stop using an electric toothbrush and go back to manual. I haven't got round to it yet.

Your gums recede as you get older and stuff gets stuck in the gaps. You’re constantly flossing unless you keep your eating to mealtimes, which tbh you should be doing anyway. Electric toothbrush and interdental brushes will help prevent it getting worse. You’re lucky to have no chips or fillings.

I think your gums start to recede hence the getting stuff stuck more. I am obsessive with my flossing these days.

I could have written your post. The dentist insists i can keep it at bay with a ruthless hygiene regime. I’m not so sure, it’s defeating all efforts so far.

I’m only 41 and have noticed I get stuff stuck more often these days. Sigh

Hygienist!

Waterflosssing is the way forward. Horrifying but satisfying to see the stuck bits come out.

@UnoriginalPenguin tell me more about waterflossing please!

Glad it is not just me - so tiresome and annoying.

I wonder if it is the electric toothbrush? I am making a big effort not to use much pressure with it, but otherwise it does do a better job than manual at cleaning I think.

Oh great, another problem to look forward to. Just turned 40 and I'm falling apart at the seems!

@stumpedasatree I have a Waterpik, you can get plug in (to shaver socket I think) or rechargeable (the type I have). It takes a bit of practice to not spray yourself or the bathroom with water, but I found it easy to get the hang of and I love it. I prefer it to the interdental brushes because some of my tooth gaps are massive (brush doesn't touch the sides ) and some are tiny (I had a few panicky moments when the brush got stuck).

I also use a water flosser. A quick squirt and all the food comes out from between your teeth.

Apologies, if you already do this, but another tip is to cut fruit such as apples into more bite size pieces. I always find its the action of biting a large item of fruit which causes the flesh of it to get stuck between my front teeth. So if eating an apple now I cut straight around the core in 4 pieces which is enough to prevent this.

But I can highly recommend a water flosser too.

I see a periodontist about receding gums but it's £££ Think it's the perimenopause. Nobody tells you do they, about the costs of ageing - for me gums and glasses, which I need a few pairs of because I keep losing them

A water flosser won't make the receding gums worse will it?

I think I do much less damage to my gums (definitely less likely to make them bleed) with the water flosser than with dental tape/brushes. So for me it seems to be the least damaging option (disclaimer - I am definitely not a dentist).

I am 40s, about to have braces. The orthodontist told me most of their adult clients are those who had braces as teenagers in the 90s and were not given any retainers so their teeth have just moved back to where they started.

My hygenist told me the water flosser I was using wasn’t really doing the job of cleaning adequately between teeth and that for most people it was better to use interdental brushes - she gave me 3 different sizes to ensure a good fit between each teeth.

I do feel like my teeth are much cleaner now and I can see they look brighter with less deposits building up. Think this helps with keeping the gums healthy and less likely to recede though there is an element of ageing gums that can’t be avoided!

Also try gengigel, it’s hyaluronic gel for your gums. It won’t grow them back like some claim but it does plump them up a bit so they are less receding

@mowglika, I find the combination of water flosser, interdental brushes and dental floss the absolute best for cleaning between teeth. Can't beat the water flosser for getting the majority of debris out of your mouth. From there an interdental brush cleans the side face of the tooth the best and floss is good for where gaps are too small.

I use floss, interdental brushes, a waterflosser and an electric toothbrush. It literally takes me about 15 minutes to "brush my teeth".
The waterflosser is brilliant at removing the bits that the floss and brushes miss.
Gums do recede as you get older hence the phrase "getting long in the tooth".