Bleeding gums

[Guest]

I guess I had been neglecting brushing the gums a bit or something, because I ran the toothbrush up against them 2 days ago(Monday) and they started to bleed a bit. I brushed the gumline more and they continued to bleed this bright red blood. Soon my top teeth were just soaked in this red color. I rinsed it out as well as I could and then flossed, for the first time in awhile. This has inspired me to take better care of my teeth. The teeth look great, they are white and all that, but the gums are so irritated. They are a tiny bit puffy and swollen over some teeth but they are bleeding above all my top and bottom teeth when i brush the gumline. there is not one stretch of apparently healthy gumline.

my mom always told me in the past that healthy gums don't bleed, so if i see them bleeding, to just start brushing very regularly with special focus on the gumline and to also floss a lot. So I've been brushing 3 times a day and flossing twice a day since Monday morning.

Someone else recommended that I make a mix of one ounce hydrogen peroxide and one ounce water and swish that around my mouth for 30 seconds 3 times a day in order to kill the infection. The same person also recommended putting a half teaspoon of salt in one cup of water and swishing this for 30 seconds, 3 times a day, 5 minutes after I use the hydro mix. Also recommended I use listerine twice a day.

Well two days later and my gums still bleed easily when I brush the gumline. I try not to shy away from them because I figure that I have to brush the gumline gently but thoroughly in order to clean it. They also bleed when I floss but yeah. I am hoping they start to look better by Friday.

Do you guys think it is still in the gingivitis stage or maybe it has proceeded to periodontitis? Is it possible to tell from a description? I really don't think it's anything more than gingivitis but this might be the first time in my life that I've paid so much attention to the gumline. i don't think that it's bleeding a lot because i'm paying a lot of attention to it though- i think they are just unhealthy and i have to fix them.

i think i might try doing that hydro peroxide and saltwater thing as my friend said.


Fortunately I am scheduled for an appointment at the dentist tomorrow. I made this appointment six months ago at my last one so hopefully they can set me on the right path.

 

[hair_tomorrow]

The hydrogen peroxide and salt rinses are excellent - but they're more for maintenance.

You need to make an appointment w/ your dentist to have your teeth cleaned. The hygienest or dentist or whoever's doing the cleaning will clean "under" the gum line - where your problem is.

You've heard of plaque? That sh*t's like cement and forms between your gum and teeth. Eventually the plaque keeps building up and building up and you'll have these deep spaces where your gums are falling away from your teeth.

Yes, it sounds as if you're in the very early stages of gingevitis. If left untreated - you'll evolve into periodontitis.

After you get a professional cleaning - make sure to floss daily. Flossing is the only thing that gets rid of the plaque under the gumline before it hardens.

Been there. Don't let if go any longer.

 

[Guest]

thanks hair transplant

yeah i have an appt scheduled with my dentist that i made 6 months ago. fortunately, my timing is excellent.

i have a feeling that it's really gonna hurt when they deep clean my gums, right? if it hurts this much brushing the surface, i can't imagine how much it is going to hurt when they do that. maybe i should take a vicodin beforehand...

after i get them cleaned, how many times a day should i floss? once or twice? thanks. i figure if the number is once a day, i should probably floss when i brush my teeth right before bed, right? this way i can get the plaque out of there before i sleep with my mouth closed for 8 hours?

 

[hair_tomorrow]

thanks hair transplant

yeah i have an appt scheduled with my dentist that i made 6 months ago. fortunately, my timing is excellent.

i have a feeling that it's really gonna hurt when they deep clean my gums, right? if it hurts this much brushing the surface, i can't imagine how much it is going to hurt when they do that. maybe i should take a vicodin beforehand...

after i get them cleaned, how many times a day should i floss? once or twice? thanks. i figure if the number is once a day, i should probably floss when i brush my teeth right before bed, right? this way i can get the plaque out of there before i sleep with my mouth closed for 8 hours?

Cleaning - even deep cleaning - shouldn't hurt - but it really depends on who's doing the cleaning. If they use the hand tools it doesn't hurt at all. But if they break out the cavitron (high pressure water jet spray that they shoot into and beneath your gum line - yeah - that can get a bit "nervy"). My dentist uses the cavitron becaue I have a lot of stain (coffee, cigs, etc.). And I hate that thing - but it's my own fault. If I didn't smoke - they wouldn't have to use it. Still the dentist doesn't hurt as much as the hygienist does - it all depends on their technique.

After you get your teeth cleaned - you'll want to keep doing your hot salt water and / or hydrogen perioxide rinses. Keep that up until the bleeding eventually stops.

Floss once daily. Brush, rinse well, and then floss. Yeah - it makes sense to floss at bedtime - but I've taken to flossing in the morning. Sometimes I get too lazy at bedtime and used to skip it - which is bad. So, in the mornings, after I rub whatever shampoo I'm using onto my scalp that day, I'll brush my teeth in the shower, rinse, floss, rinse w/ ACT and then rinse my hair.

You'll be fine. It might take some time and effort to bounce back - but the important things are vigilence and diligence.

"If you ignore your teeth - they'll go away".

 

[Guest]

ah i see.

i was under the impression that my teeth wouldn't bleed after leaving the dentist, because the hygienist would remove all the plaque so i'd be like starting at zero, and it'd be up to me to keep them from bleeding again. this is not true?

thanks

 

[CCS]

If I don't brush for a while my gums bleed too. Just keep on brushing, get all the missed spots, floss, and use Listerine for a day or two. They wills stop bleeding. Sometimes if I eat something that is a bit spoiled, my gums will get soft and puffy. I just use listerine that day, and problem solved. I only use listerine when I have trouble.

 

[hair_tomorrow]

ah i see.

i was under the impression that my teeth wouldn't bleed after leaving the dentist, because the hygienist would remove all the plaque so i'd be like starting at zero, and it'd be up to me to keep them from bleeding again. this is not true?

thanks

It really depends on what condition your gums are in. If you have many "deep pockets" (areas where your gum has pulled away from your teeth) then you might have some residual bleeding even after your cleaning.

If you have just a slight case of calculus (hardened plaque) buildup - then a good cleaning may be all you need.

The important thing is to to start w/ a professional cleaning, and then brush, floss and rinse regularly.

I ran into a lot of trouble a bunch of years back - and one of my problems was that I didn't have "any" bleeding (but I had some serious perio going on <my teeth weree fine - but my gums were falling out ). So, although bleeding is a tell-tale sign - everyone's different. It took a lot of work on my part - and many visits to the hygienist's chair - but where I used to have 3s and 4s (depth of pockets) I'm zeros all around the gum line now (no pockets).

 

[Harie]

You can't expect your gums to become healthy over night. It took months for them to get to the point that they're bleeding, and it will take a few weeks of flossing/brushing/Listerine to get them back to normal. I'm guessing your gums will bleed like crazy at the dentist because they're already inflamed from flossing & brushing (something they're not used to).

A couple years ago, at my 6 month dentist visit, I'd been sorely neglecting flossing my teeth and it caught up to me. During my check-up, the dentist said I had a tooth infection (from lack of flossing) under my 2 year molars. They were going to cut my gums open by the molars (where the infection was), and pack some sort of dissolving anti-biotics inside my gums against my teeth & sew my gums back up. Scheduled the appointment for a month & 1/2 later.

I was freaked out and definitely didn't want them to slice open my gums, so I went out and bought a Sonicare toothbrush (I love that thing!) the next day. I flossed, brushed & Listerined my *** off for the next month & 1/2. I brushed 3x/day and flossed morning and evening, plus Listerined 2x/day as well. When it came time for the appointment, the infection was gone, and the dentist was amazed. After a quick gum depth check, I was sent home without surgery.

Skip to today, and I've stopped flossing more than once or twice a week, but I still use the Sonicare toothbrush and I've never had a bad dentist visit again.

 

[KielMcK]

I floss all day long. I have those mini flossing things "plaquers" and I keep them in my car so I just keep flossing all day whenever I'm on the rd. and I keep them next to my bed so I floss when I'm watching TV at night. As for brushing I got some powertool made by crest that makes my teeth feel as if I just went to the dentist for a cleaning everytime.

 

[bubka]

Do you guys think it is still in the gingivitis stage or maybe it has proceeded to periodontitis? Is it possible to tell from a description? I really don't think it's anything more than gingivitis but this might be the first time in my life that I've paid so much attention to the gumline. i don't think that it's bleeding a lot because i'm paying a lot of attention to it though- i think they are just unhealthy and i have to fix them.

If you noticed that the gums have really started to recede then it is periodontal disease, also I am told that your breath smells like sh*t, literally

Gingivitis can be reversed, so I would imagine thats what you have, keep up the brushing and flossing, I also use Listerine (or the Target generic equivalent), not Scope, not ADA, studies show it does virtually nothing

 

[CCS]

Do you guys think it is still in the gingivitis stage or maybe it has proceeded to periodontitis? Is it possible to tell from a description? I really don't think it's anything more than gingivitis but this might be the first time in my life that I've paid so much attention to the gumline. i don't think that it's bleeding a lot because i'm paying a lot of attention to it though- i think they are just unhealthy and i have to fix them.

If you noticed that the gums have really started to recede then it is periodontal disease, also I am told that your breath smells like $#iT, literally

Gingivitis can be reversed, so I would imagine thats what you have, keep up the brushing and flossing, I also use Listerine (or the Target generic equivalent), not Scope, not ADA, studies show it does virtually nothing

i should start brushing again. maybe that is why I get smiles from far away, but the conversation goes south.

 

[bubka]

most likely only part of it

 

[Guest]

Do you guys think it is still in the gingivitis stage or maybe it has proceeded to periodontitis? Is it possible to tell from a description? I really don't think it's anything more than gingivitis but this might be the first time in my life that I've paid so much attention to the gumline. i don't think that it's bleeding a lot because i'm paying a lot of attention to it though- i think they are just unhealthy and i have to fix them.

If you noticed that the gums have really started to recede then it is periodontal disease, also I am told that your breath smells like $#iT, literally

Gingivitis can be reversed, so I would imagine thats what you have, keep up the brushing and flossing, I also use Listerine (or the Target generic equivalent), not Scope, not ADA, studies show it does virtually nothing

yeah the dentist today said it was a minor case of gingivitis. she said that i didn't really have much more plaque buildup than the average person, just that the whitening gel getting on my gims irritated the sh*t out of it, and using listerine after that with the alcohol content inside made it even worse. i just brushed my teeth and the gums only bled slightly so i dont think its a big deal. i only had one real swollen area, above my top two teeth, and it's starting to look healthier.

im not sure if my hygienist was full of sh*t or whatever, bubka, but she told me to stop using listerine. she said that the alcohol content in it can irritate healthy gums and she said that she and her dentist have seen patients with perfect hygiene habits but who used listerine, and she said that the listerine actually made their gum tissue sloff off. not sure whether or not to take that seriously. but she recommended that i use the crest pro health alcohol-free mouthwash instead.

i'm going to keep brushing twice a day and flossing each night.

 

[bubka]

i have many friends who are dentists

they are ape sh*t over that crest pro health

i like the Listerine burn though

 

[Guest]

yeah. i know listerine has a great rep but apparently that burning sensation which lets you know its working may do more damage than originally thought.

 

[CCS]

I actually use the crest pro. I might add some licorice to it.

I brushed my teeth today, and the blood dripped out. But it felt good. I brushed, used mouth wash, flossed, brushed again, used mouth wash again. My mouth feels so much better. I got to stay on top of this. I probably lost a milliliter of blood.

 

[Guest]

I actually use the crest pro. I might add some licorice to it.

I brushed my teeth today, and the blood dripped out. But it felt good. I brushed, used mouth wash, flossed, brushed again, used mouth wash again. My mouth feels so much better. I got to stay on top of this. I probably lost a milliliter of blood.

when you say you neglect brushing your teeth, what do you mean? do you actually go days without brushing your teeth?

 

[CCS]

I went 2 days without brushing.

 

[Guest]

I went 2 days without brushing.

ok this may sound nuts to you, but perhaps you should spend less time in the gym and on the hair and more time on your teeth. women care about a good smile just as much if not more than they care about a good body or a good head of hair. it's also the easiest to achieve of the three.

 

[hair_tomorrow]

Do you guys think it is still in the gingivitis stage or maybe it has proceeded to periodontitis? Is it possible to tell from a description? I really don't think it's anything more than gingivitis but this might be the first time in my life that I've paid so much attention to the gumline. i don't think that it's bleeding a lot because i'm paying a lot of attention to it though- i think they are just unhealthy and i have to fix them.

If you noticed that the gums have really started to recede then it is periodontal disease, also I am told that your breath smells like $#iT, literally

Gingivitis can be reversed, so I would imagine thats what you have, keep up the brushing and flossing, I also use Listerine (or the Target generic equivalent), not Scope, not ADA, studies show it does virtually nothing

yeah the dentist today said it was a minor case of gingivitis. she said that i didn't really have much more plaque buildup than the average person, just that the whitening gel getting on my gims irritated the $#iT out of it, and using listerine after that with the alcohol content inside made it even worse. i just brushed my teeth and the gums only bled slightly so i dont think its a big deal. i only had one real swollen area, above my top two teeth, and it's starting to look healthier.

im not sure if my hygienist was full of $#iT or whatever, bubka, but she told me to stop using listerine. she said that the alcohol content in it can irritate healthy gums and she said that she and her dentist have seen patients with perfect hygiene habits but who used listerine, and she said that the listerine actually made their gum tissue sloff off. not sure whether or not to take that seriously. but she recommended that i use the crest pro health alcohol-free mouthwash instead.

i'm going to keep brushing twice a day and flossing each night.

Glad it all worked out! Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything, but Listerine - never been a fan. Their claims that it cures gingevitis and washes away plaque is BS. And it is too strong for anything but already healthy gums.

You're better off off sticking w/ the hot salt water rinse.

When I was in the midst of my problems - like you I wqas rinsing and swishing w/ hydrogen peroxide and hot salt water. Now I alternate between different varieties of ACT. The 2 kinds I use are the whitening and the enamel care.

Until you're totally out of the woods - I'd stick w/ the hot salt water. Great for your gummies.