jguff79

Hello! I've been trying to take really good care of my teeth. I am conscious not to brush too hard, but I always make sure to brush long enough, floss, and rinse. I purchased a battery powered toothbrush several months ago and noticed a marked improvement in my gum health. I love how clean my teeth feel. However, recently I noticed the battery power was dying in my brush. I also noticed that the toothbrush head was getting difficult to twist on and off.

One morning I was brushing and started to feel a lot of pain. I stopped and looked and it was clear that the brush was irritating my gums. That evening the same thing happened. I examined the brush and saw that the head was not twisting on properly and that was probably why it was irritating my gums.

The irritation was so bad that there are sores across my gums and skin has been sloughing off. It feels strange. and my gums look swollen. The gum around one of my molars looks swollen. The border between my gum and molar looks red and bleeding when I brush. I've been using a manual tooth brush, but even it is bothering my teeth. I don't know how to clean my teeth without aggravating them further.

To top things off yesterday I noticed a lump deep in the tissue of my left cheek. It can't be seen. The cheek looks normal with no visible lumps, but you can definitely feel that there is a lump about the size of an eraser head within the tissue. I tried calling my dentist for an appointment, but his offices are closed until next week and then who knows how long it will be before I can actually get an appointment.

Any suggestions as to how to clean my teeth without aggravating my gums further? Any idea what this lump could be? Thanks so much for your input.