need help w/ gingiva problem

[chef]

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here are my probs:

my gums, especially the lower gum, are chronically inflammed. they don't hurt but when u look at them they are definitely inflammed. i brush teeth minimum 2x/day, use waterpick(water nozzle thingy), mouthwash. i tend to bleed often durin toothbrushing. i don't smoke or drink. in good health otherwise.

what can i do w/ inflammation problem?

 

[Itsmoney]

Hi,
Sounds like you need a professional cleaning by your local dentist/hygenist! Your describing signs of Gingivitis. After a professional cleaning, bleeding will stop and inflammation goes away if you continue to brush and floss.
ITSMONEY

 

[Dr. Pedo]

chef,

First off no one here could possibly diagnosis your problem without seeing it first hand. Therefore, it is imperative that you see a dentist ASAP. Having said that--- here are some ideas not diagnosis of your issue...

1) Bleeding gums can result for many reasons, quite simply bad brushing technique and/or too hard of bristle on the tooth brush. Make sure it is of the soft catagory.

2) Even though you brush daily, if you haven't had your teeth cleaned in several months or years--- plaque will grow subgingivally (below the gums) and no matter how much you brush (after the fact) your gums will become irritated by this plaque. This irritation is commonly known as gingivitis.

3) Another thing is certain toothpastes and mouthwash irritate the gums. Some of the known toothpastes are those that have pyrophosphates (tooth whitening properties) and mouthwash that have high alcohol content (majority of them do). Continually using the irritating products 2-3x a day will be counterproductive, especially if your gums are already mad.

4) Certain medications cause gingival inflammation as well as certain systemic diseases (such as blood disorders). That is why you need to see a dentist to rule out any systemic diseases that might be manifesting in your oral cavity.

These are just a few reasons bleeding and irratation can occur in the mouth. They range from improper toothpaste to serious systemic disease. That is why it is important to get checked. With the information you provided---I think a good cleaning, with a good check-up and possibly a change of tootbrush should suffice!!!!!!

Good luck,
RRB

 

[chef]

thanks a lot for help guys.

i forgot to mention that I DO see a dentist every 6 mo's-1 yr to get the cleaning done. I really hate it tho b/c it hurts like a BI#cH and there's so much bleeding. Also, I seriously think w/ all that yanking and shoving action w/ the metal between my teeth, the gap between my teeth will get wider!!! (am I paranoid?)

dentist says my teeth are in excellent condition and when i ask him about inflammation he just says to practice good toothbrushing habits. He said if it gets worse he'll have to anesthesize my gingiva and drill some holes to let out some pus and other crap! 🙁

finally, i had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed 2 yrs ago under general aneths. (they were sideways=>required drilling etc so i opted for gen anes) 6 months ago xray revealed that 1 small bit of a wisdom tooth was not removed so it's still embedded. WTF!! do i need to get this removed or is it ok? i really don't wanna get another surgery

oh, really finally: at my school there's a cheap dental plan for non-serious dental care, but the catch is that procedures are done by dental students under attending's supervision. Are these more HARM than good? lol i don't mean to offend anyone but seriously, am i better off paying more for a DDS vs DDS to be?🙂

 

[Yah-E]

He said if it gets worse he'll have to anesthesize my gingiva and drill some holes to let out some pus and other crap!

Haven't heard of thisone before!! 😕

6 months ago xray revealed that 1 small bit of a wisdom tooth was not removed so it's still embedded. WTF!! do i need to get this removed or is it ok?

I do not believe that you'll need to under go surgery again UNLESS it's causing infections and/or extreme discomfort. In normal conditions, the tooth fragment will eventually resorb (degrade) or surface pushed by bone tissue regrowth. (Please confirm this, Doctors in this forum)

oh, really finally: at my school there's a cheap dental plan for non-serious dental care, but the catch is that procedures are done by dental students under attending's supervision. Are these more HARM than good?

I've always supported dental schools and students for dental procedures. Since they're students, not only they'll spend more time with you per procedure PLUS you'll have faculty supervision to insure a quality and correct treatment.

I've gone to the dental schools for my 3rd molar extractions by the chief resident and all my dental hygiene appointments! It's both cheap and quality treatment.

 

[Itsmoney]

The part of the wisdome teeth left is most likely a root tip left in, either because of the difficulty of the extraction, or that the tip was broken off and it was not noted during the extration, or that it was unaccessable to retrieve. Most of the time root tips are ok, and sometimes they even erupt over time to a point where they can easily be removed, or they will resorb over time...But since your wisdome teeth were not infected before you got them out, you probably will be ok unless you get pain and swelling in the area.

Now as a 4 year dental student I can tell you that sometimes dental students actually do a better job then dentists. This sometimes is due to a fact that we spend more time to achieve perfection, where time is not a concern, where as in a dental office ---> TIME IS MONEY! Meaning less time will be spend...
To give you an example...I went and visited a dental lab and looked at the tooth preperations for crowns. I probably looked at about 50 cases (casts of tooth preperations) where the tooth preperation (Tooth shaved down for cap) were done by practicing dentists. And I must admit out of the 50 that I saw only 1 of them looked good...meaning it had all the principles of tooth preperation applied to the preperation that we are thought in dental school...whereas all the others seemed to be done using a pencil sharpner (Looked horible). Don't get me wrong there are some skiled dentists out there, however time in the office these days may prevent perfection.

Actually, dental students are better then dentists at extracting impacted 3rd molars 🙂 I've extraced several impacted 3rd molars where the patients were reffered to the dental school from dentists, because they don't feel comfortable doing it.

ITSMONEY

 

[groundhog]

Wow, I'm no professsional, but the stated goal of my routine cleanings is to have minnimal bleeding at each visit and I get reeducated about my personal cleaning habits if bleeding does reappear.

 

[Dr. Pedo]

Chef,

Your case baffles me as well as concerns me! I think it would be in your best interest to seek a second opinion about your gums. Bottom line is your condition is not normal and needs to be resolved. PUS in the gums is NOT normal and should be a major concern to your dentist. I'm not saying he/she isn't providing the best care, however if you are still in pain you need to seek a 2nd opinion.

Going to your a dental school clinic would be a great decision! The students there get graded on their observations and diagnosis----that means those tender inflammed gums will be a priority and I promise it will be a point of focus. They or their supervisors will figure it out what the problem is and if they can't they'll call in the specialists a Periodontists (gum specialist) and/or oral pathologist (tissue disease specialist) who I'm certain will have an answer for you!!!

 

[DrJeff]

All the reasons/opinions posted so far are definate possibilities/good ideas. Another thing to consider though is are you a mouth breather? Many folks who are will have areas of inflammed gingiva(typically around anterior teeth) and otherwise good oral hygiene. Typically these patient's will have oral anatomy characterized by a high palate, and a maxiallry arch form that is "v" shaped compared to the typical "U" shape.

Just something to consder and include in the list of possible causes.