Wonder if anyone has experienced this dental issue or has any suggestion on what could be causing the problem I am experiencing and any possible solutions...

I am quite conscientious with regard to my dental hygiene. No significant dental problems run in my family. Last year during a routine dental check-up and cleaning the Doc had noticed that I had pocket measurements of 3 - 5 ml mouth wide. At the time I had experienced no gum bleeding, gum redness, or any other problems for that matter so I was surprised at the finding. That said, he recommended a deep cleaning (scaling) which I promptly did in hopes of stopping further gum degradation. Now only about 16 months have passed and despite continual good oral hygiene practices that I've had throughout my 40 years, I've been literally been watching my gums recede (it may sound crazy but yes watching and it’s no exaggeration) at an alarming rate especially the last 6 months or so. I did one of those mail order deals for Periostat (which, if there was some sort of bacterial issue from my research this should help) and I have been taking it twice daily for nearly 4 months but to no avail. My gums are now very sensitive (no bleeding or redness) just sore sort of a buring sensation...almost feels like they’re being pulled down toward the jar bone and have continued to recede another 3 or 4 ml easily. Anyways you may have wondered why I just haven't gone back to the dentist yet...it's a long story but to keep it short I had very bad experiences with the dentist during my young youth and it freaked me so bad...even to this day some 33/34 years later, I am most untrusting/uncomfortable with dentists. I feel like a dear in headlights so to speak right now. Just a bit scared I think. No dental insurance either--so I'm sure I'm looking at thousands for help not just hundreds. Go easy on me here but I would like to hear your thoughts if you're in the know. I do value my teeth, very much in fact, and I think I may just need to get the courage up and get some help soon but wish I had some idea of what is going on before I walked in. By the way, I have no other health issues that I am aware of. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing some of your thoughts on this matter.

Peace.

I've been through alot of what you are going through. For the past twenty years I have been going to the same dentist faithfully. He always gives me an "A+" for homework. The past several years my gums have been bleeding. I never thought much of it because I've been seeing the same dentist for over 20 years and everything (according to him) is wonderful. I have recentley switched dentists and according to this new guy I have four cavities and also sever to advanced gum disease! He tells me to see a perio or I soon will be losing teeth! I went to the perio in August for a consult- and according to him I do have severe to advanced gum disease- I need to have scaling and planing done, and also have oral surgery to the tune of over $5000. I started the scalings last week and will finish them by the end of the year. It costs $700 for all 4 quadrants. I will be getting the work done over the next couple of years as my insurance pays for about 60% of it. It's a very expensive deal, and has no guarnatees that I will not need dentures somewher down the road anyway. Sometimes i think it would be easier and cheaper just to get the dentures! I am a 40 year old female. Anyway good luck to you.

lots of brushing with a hard toothbrush can cause gums to recede

Thanks for your thoughts MyOMy and hry33...certainly hope your situation improves MyOMy with your new dentist and treatment course as it sounds like you may have a plan somewhat in place to handle your problem. Keep the faith and let us know how things progress...

My teeth appear healthy and are actually reasonably white...pretty straight too as I had braces when I was a youth. I don't brush my teeth overly hard and I always use a soft toothbrush. It's just like I mentioned in my original post, over the last 6 months or so I've watched the gums recede significantly like on a daily basis. Again, they don't bleed and are fairly pink (not overly red) in color. I guess what I'd like to say too is that I very much value (like) my teeth and couldn't imagine losing them due to gum problems or bone loss. I need to figure this out and sooner rather than later. Also I forgot to mention that I don't smoke or use smokeless tobacco and am otherwise generally healthy. Anyone else out there ever experience this gum problem and know what could be going on???

Still looking for insight/thoughts/advice...

WhyNot, read below for what it is probably the answer to your problem. I went through the same thing. I had 4-6 mm pockets, had root scaling done to no avail. Root scaling doesn't even come close to addressing the cause of the problem which you can easily do yourself. The problem is that the bacteria is destroying your gums and the more the bacteria grows, the bigger the pockets get. And root scaling is not going to fix it. Eventually you reach the point where the bacteria is growing unchecked. What you need to do is keep the bacteria in check by improving the blood circulation to your gums, putting some good nutrition into your blood stream, and killing the bacteria directly to speed up the process. To improve the circulation to your gums, eat hot chili or cayenne peppers or powder, start slowly until your get used to it. Also eat blended organic vegetables for easier digestion and absorption ( I use the Vitamix), and a good all around diet, with good quality protein, fats and little or no junk or packaged foods. What I did was to blend organic carrots, romaine lettuce, chard, celery or any other organic vegetables, with three hot chili peppers, one or two cloves of garlic and some onion to kill the bacteria. Ten months later, my pockets shrunk from 4-6 to 2-3 mm from eating just two blended cups of the above recipes a day. Then I started to eat four cups a day and within two years I saw all the gaps im my front teeth disappear. When I went for a physical recently, the doctor said that my gum and teeth looked really good. One thing dentists do really well is make a lot of money, but ask them to treat gum disease and you'll have better luck at Vegas.

I don't believe that I had receding of the gums at a rapid pace like you mention, but I did have gum disease and loose teeth for decades, until I had all of my mercury fillings replaced with white fillings. I believe these white fillings were composed of porcelain.

I hadn't heard of mercury fillings affecting the gums that fast, but I thought that I would mention it, just in case. (Because we are all individuals that are affected differently.) I struggled also with fibromyalgia symptoms for years and years. It's hard to say what could be causing your problems. But I thought I would mention this anyway. I know it must be frustrating for you.

I hope you can find some answers....

aamsaams1 and rhody thank-you for your thoughtful replies.

aamsaams just a few follow-up questions and comments to you post. Do you know what specific bacteria caused your problem? Did you not use any subanitbiotic such as Periostat or its counterpart antibiotic Doxycycline? Also, do you find gargling with Listerine and/or hydorgen peroxide useful? I did use Periostat for about 3 months and it seem to temporarily slow things down maybe even halt things but then abruptly just seemed to stop working or really having noticeable effect. I was contemplating using the Doxycycline to see if that would help but didn't want to load up on the antibiotic if it did not treat the specific bacteria that may be the root of the problem. The reason I didn't hesitate on the Periostat is because of the lowered risk due to the fact that it is only working on the sub-antibiotic level. The remedy that you described seem to be on the homeopathic route but nonetheless is quite interesting. I don't know if I could follow the same regimen since I do suffer from mild acid reflux disease... If you could would reply to my questions I would appreciate your addition thoughts. Thanks.

Sorry to hear about your problem with your gums :confused: . I have had quite alot of problems with teeth/gums until about 10 year ago when I started adding 1,000 mg Vitamin C with Bioflavanoids/ CoQ10 60mg/B Complex and got a juicer and started juicing fresh organic veggies every day. I also use a Braun electric brush and rinse with Mouth Tonic, a tincture made by HerbPharm which I get from local health food store and just use a few drops in water daily. I also use a WAterpik daily and make sure I floss after meals :p I would advise you to go asap to a periodontist where they can evaluate for you, but it could just be nutritional and adding the above recommendations will definitely help.
anneh

Wonder if anyone has experienced this dental issue or has any suggestion on what could be causing the problem I am experiencing and any possible solutions...

I am quite conscientious with regard to my dental hygiene. No significant dental problems run in my family. Last year during a routine dental check-up and cleaning the Doc had noticed that I had pocket measurements of 3 - 5 ml mouth wide. At the time I had experienced no gum bleeding, gum redness, or any other problems for that matter so I was surprised at the finding. That said, he recommended a deep cleaning (scaling) which I promptly did in hopes of stopping further gum degradation. Now only about 16 months have passed and despite continual good oral hygiene practices that I've had throughout my 40 years, I've been literally been watching my gums recede (it may sound crazy but yes watching and it’s no exaggeration) at an alarming rate especially the last 6 months or so. I did one of those mail order deals for Periostat (which, if there was some sort of bacterial issue from my research this should help) and I have been taking it twice daily for nearly 4 months but to no avail. My gums are now very sensitive (no bleeding or redness) just sore sort of a buring sensation...almost feels like they’re being pulled down toward the jar bone and have continued to recede another 3 or 4 ml easily. Anyways you may have wondered why I just haven't gone back to the dentist yet...it's a long story but to keep it short I had very bad experiences with the dentist during my young youth and it freaked me so bad...even to this day some 33/34 years later, I am most untrusting/uncomfortable with dentists. I feel like a dear in headlights so to speak right now. Just a bit scared I think. No dental insurance either--so I'm sure I'm looking at thousands for help not just hundreds. Go easy on me here but I would like to hear your thoughts if you're in the know. I do value my teeth, very much in fact, and I think I may just need to get the courage up and get some help soon but wish I had some idea of what is going on before I walked in. By the way, I have no other health issues that I am aware of. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing some of your thoughts on this matter.

Peace.
[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]

You may want to try brushing with a baking soda-peroxide mixture. Just household baking soda and enough peroxide mixed together to make a paste that will stay on your brush.

I worked for dentists for years and this was a big recommendation given to periodontal patients.

aamsaams1 and rhody thank-you for your thoughtful replies.

aamsaams just a few follow-up questions and comments to you post. Do you know what specific bacteria caused your problem? Did you not use any subanitbiotic such as Periostat or its counterpart antibiotic Doxycycline? Also, do you find gargling with Listerine and/or hydorgen peroxide useful? I did use Periostat for about 3 months and it seem to temporarily slow things down maybe even halt things but then abruptly just seemed to stop working or really having noticeable effect. I was contemplating using the Doxycycline to see if that would help but didn't want to load up on the antibiotic if it did not treat the specific bacteria that may be the root of the problem. The reason I didn't hesitate on the Periostat is because of the lowered risk due to the fact that it is only working on the sub-antibiotic level. The remedy that you described seem to be on the homeopathic route but nonetheless is quite interesting. I don't know if I could follow the same regimen since I do suffer from mild acid reflux disease... If you could would reply to my questions I would appreciate your addition thoughts. Thanks.

I don't know what bacteria caused my problem. When I had the root scaling done, the dentist used what I believe he called a disinfectant, don't know exactly what it was, that was supposed to kill the bacteria and make the gums grow back. When I went back to the dentist, there was no improvement at all. Two months later I started to eat the blended organic vegatables with the hot peppers and haven't used anything else. I even stopped using the waterpik because there was nothing to flush out anymore after about eighteeen months. I hardly floss, didn't see a dentist for four years, and went back to dentist recently to have my mercury fillings replaced with white ones. I decided to eat hot chili peppers after reading a book from Sam Biser and Dr Richard Schulze on Cayenne. The book is out of print. Dr Schulze sells a tooth and gum formula that is very hot and kind of expensive. I WOuld think rinsing with that would work just as well as eating cayenne. It does really improve the circulation in your gums. You also need a good diet in order for your body to rebuild the gum tissue. I still eat some junk food, but a good nutritious diet definetely makes a difference.

WhyNot, read below for what it is probably the answer to your problem. I went through the same thing. I had 4-6 mm pockets, had root scaling done to no avail. Root scaling doesn't even come close to addressing the cause of the problem which you can easily do yourself. The problem is that the bacteria is destroying your gums and the more the bacteria grows, the bigger the pockets get. And root scaling is not going to fix it. Eventually you reach the point where the bacteria is growing unchecked. What you need to do is keep the bacteria in check by improving the blood circulation to your gums, putting some good nutrition into your blood stream, and killing the bacteria directly to speed up the process. To improve the circulation to your gums, eat hot chili or cayenne peppers or powder, start slowly until your get used to it. Also eat blended organic vegetables for easier digestion and absorption ( I use the Vitamix), and a good all around diet, with good quality protein, fats and little or no junk or packaged foods. What I did was to blend organic carrots, romaine lettuce, chard, celery or any other organic vegetables, with three hot chili peppers, one or two cloves of garlic and some onion to kill the bacteria. Ten months later, my pockets shrunk from 4-6 to 2-3 mm from eating just two blended cups of the above recipes a day. Then I started to eat four cups a day and within two years I saw all the gaps im my front teeth disappear. When I went for a physical recently, the doctor said that my gum and teeth looked really good. One thing dentists do really well is make a lot of money, but ask them to treat gum disease and you'll have better luck at Vegas.

aamsaams1

How did you find out about this mix that you take?

Thanks so much:)

Rainer

PS:Forget it,I just read further down the page and now have the info I'm looking for.

Still looking for insight/thoughts/advice...

Hi: I've had sore gums/sensitive teeth for about 2 years now. Every DDS I've seen has told me something different. I do have a couple of pockets that measure a 4, but I'm just told to get my teeth cleaned every 4 months instead of every 6 months. I've tried every toothpaste that exists to help with the soreness and sensitivity and nothing makes a difference. I have TMJ and that can cause referred pain to the teeth which I get. It's very frustrating b/c I've been sent to the Endodontist's office twice for nothing. It turns out I didn't need a root canal. When I saw the Endo last week, she told me that my dentin was exposed. So, I don't know if it's from the grinding I do or from brushing too hard or what, but I need some relief already!!!!!!

I'm also looking for a new DDS b/c the one I started seeing recently won't treat me b/c I told him I'm not interested in wearing another upper splint for my TMJ. I"ve been through this garbage 3 times already with splint therapy and the upper one I started with initially is what opened up my bite!!!!! He then said my only other option would be Orthognathic surgery. I refuse to do that b/c I've heard so many horror stories about it. So, here I go again trying to find a competent caring DDS to help me. I'll probably drop dead before that ever happens!!!!!

Sunshine, I had sensitive teeth until the last month because I grind my teeth during sleep. I tried sensodyne, it barely made any difference. And then I started getting tooth pain and even headaches (sounds a lot like the beginning of TMJ). The dentist I saw a few months ago prescribed a night guard for my teeth grinding. I tried one long time ago and I could never get used to it. Instead I got a mouthpiece that football players wear for $1.50 and I got used to that right away and the sensitivity, headaches, and tooth pain are almost completely gone. The only pain I get now is in my wisdom teeth because the mouth piece doesn't cover them. I will make another one that will go over my wisdom teeth and then that pain will be gone too even though it only hurts when I first chew food in the morning and then it goes away. The best thing for tmj sometimes is to do nothing. The treatments they have now can make things worse. It depends a lot on the dentist. I think it's a real crapshoot. You should do something about your teeth grinding. YOu got to have something between your teeth so that you don't wear them out when you grind them or else it's only going to get worse. You can try a mouth piece for under $2 like I did.You can get one at any sporting goods store. You can get one made by a dentist for over $300 but they can be hard to get used to for some people.


Hi: I've had sore gums/sensitive teeth for about 2 years now. Every DDS I've seen has told me something different. I do have a couple of pockets that measure a 4, but I'm just told to get my teeth cleaned every 4 months instead of every 6 months. I've tried every toothpaste that exists to help with the soreness and sensitivity and nothing makes a difference. I have TMJ and that can cause referred pain to the teeth which I get. It's very frustrating b/c I've been sent to the Endodontist's office twice for nothing. It turns out I didn't need a root canal. When I saw the Endo last week, she told me that my dentin was exposed. So, I don't know if it's from the grinding I do or from brushing too hard or what, but I need some relief already!!!!!!

I'm also looking for a new DDS b/c the one I started seeing recently won't treat me b/c I told him I'm not interested in wearing another upper splint for my TMJ. I"ve been through this garbage 3 times already with splint therapy and the upper one I started with initially is what opened up my bite!!!!! He then said my only other option would be Orthognathic surgery. I refuse to do that b/c I've heard so many horror stories about it. So, here I go again trying to find a competent caring DDS to help me. I'll probably drop dead before that ever happens!!!!!

Sunshine, I had sensitive teeth until the last month because I grind my teeth during sleep. I tried sensodyne, it barely made any difference. And then I started getting tooth pain and even headaches (sounds a lot like the beginning of TMJ). The dentist I saw a few months ago prescribed a night guard for my teeth grinding. I tried one long time ago and I could never get used to it. Instead I got a mouthpiece that football players wear for $1.50 and I got used to that right away and the sensitivity, headaches, and tooth pain are almost completely gone. The only pain I get now is in my wisdom teeth because the mouth piece doesn't cover them. I will make another one that will go over my wisdom teeth and then that pain will be gone too even though it only hurts when I first chew food in the morning and then it goes away. The best thing for tmj sometimes is to do nothing. The treatments they have now can make things worse. It depends a lot on the dentist. I think it's a real crapshoot. You should do something about your teeth grinding. YOu got to have something between your teeth so that you don't wear them out when you grind them or else it's only going to get worse. You can try a mouth piece for under $2 like I did.You can get one at any sporting goods store. You can get one made by a dentist for over $300 but they can be hard to get used to for some people.

That's great that the cheap mouthpiece works for you. I had bought one a couple years ago at the drugstore, but it was too thick and I couldn't wear it. I've had splint therapy 3 times now with 3 different dentists. The problem is that my bite is bad and so I clench and grind during the day too. I wear the splint every night to bed and sometimes for part of the day if I find myself clenching a lot. My muscles are tight b/c they're trying to find the correct bite. Hey, they rhymes. lol. Anyway, thanks for writing and good luck to all of us. Sue

Dear Peace,

I hope your condition improves. There are many ways to address this issue, but you certainly need to get a grip on yourself and worry less because there may not be an instant solution.

Dietary changes may be required and some lifestyle habits, I don't really know the specifics of your life.

All I can say is that you can address the problem: there's no doubt that if you're competent and healthy enough to use the internet then you're able to work towards healing your teeth: it's that simple.

Sebastian Reed