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My gums seem to be following my hair line and slowly receding in places. Never been a problem but they are occasionally painful/sensitive. I'm presuming I've caused this myself by overly aggressive brushing
I realise I'm going to have to visit the dentist but is there anything I should be doing that can stall/reverse the problem.
My teeth are good (no fillings) and I think my gums are ok (don't bleed when brushing etc).
Do you smoke?
How often do you floss?
None smoker.
I rarely floss to be honest. Occasionally at best.
Try using corsodyl mouthwash and get yourself to the dentist.
I'm not sure if flossing will help it or not. I suffer with the same thing - my dentist tells me you can only slow the process down, but not reverse it. Definitely go more gentle with the toothbrush.
Good that you don't smoke. A lot of smokers don't realise how bad smoking is for the health of your jawbone, gums and teeth.
my dentists say brush downwards on top teeth & upwards on bottom & don't brush hard.
the benefits of an electric toothbrush can't be emphasized enough imo.
Periodontitis. Its extremely common. It leads to premature teeth loss. Look it up and go see someone to get treated.
Gum disease soon leads to irreversible done disease, which leads to loose teeth, then missing teeth, then a denture.
Don't ask me how I know.
dirk_pumpa - Memberthe benefits of an electric toothbrush can't be emphasized enough imo.
says the man with shares worth millions in Braun.
periodontitis sufferer here. no tooth loss, not yet anyway, but I second the electric toothbrush idea, if only for my wisdom teeth, where a manual brush simply cannot get in.
Never mind flossing, that's like trying to clean stonehenge with a bit of cotton; get a set of interdental brushes & brush the crap out from between your teeth at least once a day. get the biggest interdental brush you can fit between your teeth, and you may need a few different sizes to get the best effect
Gum disease soon leads to irreversible done disease, which leads to loose teeth, then missing teeth, then a denture.
this is what my dentist told me. And he pointed out that there being a large distance between the bone and th gum is a bad thing. Using interdental brushes to firm up the gums will help with this, but will cause the gums to receed. Suggest you visit a dentist rather than trying to sort it over the t'interweb
Periodontitis. Its extremely common. It leads to premature teeth loss. Look it up and go see someone to get treated.
As far as I can tell I have no symptoms of this. Not yet anyway. Sounds horrible.
The pain comes from the few areas where my gums have receded and have revealed small areas of the root of certain teeth. When something touches that area - toothbrush, ice cream, cold drinks it is painful, literally like touching the nerve.
I certainly don't have gingivitis, bleeding or sensitive gums etc.
Regardless, a dental appointment has been made this morning and I'll be investing in an electric toothbrush. Thanks for the info folks.
From the sound of it (your description of receding gums), you could have some bone loss...
My teeth/gums have always been rubbish, and last time I went to the dentist I was in for a bit of a shock...
The dentist showed me on X-rays where my bone was disappearing around my teeth. I have flossed on & off over the years & use the little interdental brushes too. The dentist reckons that the brushes get the crap out from between your teeth, but not from around your gum line. He showed me how I should be flossing & getting the floss pushed all the way down the tooth as far as it would go - it reaches around the root of the tooth a lot better than the small brushes & gets all the plaque off the tooth.
I have the same problem on the same upper one on each side. Besides the above, my dentist uses Colgate Duraphat.
Occasional use of the 2800 toothpaste to help desensitise & then Duraphat varnish to cover the sensitive area, this usually lasts 4-6 months.
Do a google search for the above.