Please put my fiance's mind at ease.... - Dental Health Message Board

Toadman5052 · 05-08-2005, 08:04 AM

My fiance had her teeth whitened yesterday using the Zoom program. Now her gums are all discolored, as if they are bruised, and she is freaking out because the wedding is only two weeks away. During the procedure, she did have pain and had to ask the dentist to move the light futher away and the gums were white immediately upon completion of the procedure, so its possible the gums weren't as protected as they should have been.

Is this typical? How long does it take to go away? Is there anything she can do, or that I can tell her, to make her feel better?

Thanks!

Warah · 05-08-2005, 12:04 PM

Whitening can definately irritate and even burn the gum tissue if the product is placed on the tissue itself. Sometimes the product will inadvertently get onto the gum tissue but if its burnt all over thats another thing. I have only see this once with similar type of bleach, however, it was localized affecting only two areas on the gum tissue.
It should resolve within 7-10 days. The mouth heals pretty fast.
If it were me I would rinse with a little bit of salt water a couple times a day and notify the dental office. They should know that the gums were affected and may have more ideas to help heal the area.

wmkcolors · 05-08-2005, 06:07 PM

When my teeth were whitened, they covered my gums with a sort of waxy sealant, to protect them. Did they do this? My teeth and gums still ached for days, before the pain subsided. My gums weren't discolored, just alot of pain.

Toadman5052 · 05-08-2005, 10:16 PM

As I understand it, the dentist did cover the gums but did so carelessly. So carelessly in fact that she had to ask him to stop treatment just a few minutes after it started. At that point, he moved the light farther away from her mouth and assured her that all was fine. The entire procedure was marked by discomfort, which the doctor told my fiance was typical.

It is now about 36 hours later and she has visible bruising on her gums between virtually all her teeth, and there are elongated bruises on the gums on the top left and right of ther mouth. Understandably, she is panicking.

I appreciate the responses and hope that it does in fact heal itself in 7-10 days, but, if there is no improvement in the next few days, is there anything she can do?

Thanks again.

wmkcolors · 05-08-2005, 10:39 PM

Together, as a team, I'd go back to the dentist and point out the bruised gums and ask if that is normal? At this point, I'd maybe even ask for my money back, especially if they didn't cover the gum area up well enough. During my procedure, it was hard to sit still for so long, with my mouth stretched apart, but I was never in any gum pain. Afterwards, I had alot of tooth sensitivity for days, which was quite painful and my gums ached, for about a week.