Gums swollen between teeth

I'm no stranger when it comes to dental fear. I've been like this since I was a kid. My dental claim to fame was when I was about four or five the doctors and nurses forced my mom out of the room while they tried to extract a tooth and clean my teeth. The nurses held me down. Not a nice thing to do to a kid who is already terrified and wants a familiar face around. It's been a really long time since then and I'm still slightly terrified of going. I also have anxiety issues to begin with so you can imagine how frightening that can be regardless. I was at the dentist a few years ago to have some bottom teeth extracted and that went fine (the dentist was very nice and put me at ease) and I survived through it. But now I need to go back and I'm getting nervous about it. I know I should be going regularly but that's fear for you.

Onto the details of why I'm here. I can't remember when exactly maybe the end of February, beginning of March I noticed that one piece of my gum had moved up between the teeth. I tried everything. I salt watered my mouth daily. I flossed to get anything that possibly could've been stuck in there out. It didn't seem to help. I had a bit of pain when it first shot up but now it's not hurting per say it's more of annoying and unflattering. Last week I noticed that more of the gums are going between the bottom teeth and it's quite obvious to me that I need to go see the dentist and have them do something about it. I don't want to lose my front teeth. I have a complete fear of that happening.

My family has suggested that it's gingivitis and I'm sure it is. But I'm wondering if it's too far gone and nothing can be done about it? I tried to get an appointment on Friday but they were closed so now I have to wait until Monday to try again. In the meantime, I thought I'd show you a photo and get your opinions and hopefully take away some of the anxiety that's going through my head about how bad it is. What should I expect? I do brush the back of my teeth too, but over the years I do have tartar build up back there. So I'm expecting the dreaded cleaning up of that. Should I be worried? I'm not exactly a big fan of sharp objects probing at my gums or having strong vibrations sweep through my teeth. It freaks me out. How are the procedures of that compared to the early 90s? Is it less terrifying nowadays? I feel silly describing my fear even on here but I need to get over this.

Hi there! I'm sorry to hear you are having a bad time with your gums. I'm also terrified of going to the dentist but a year ago I went as I also had problems with my gums. It had been about 8 years since I had been and although I look after my teeth I knew they needed a real good clean. And unfortunately that's one thing you can't do yourself. I had mild gingivitis at the time and going to the dentist was the best thing I could have done. Looking at the picture of your gums I would say you do have some gingivitis but honestly be brave and make that appointment. Tell them that you are very nervous. Millions of people are. Dentists are used to that and I'm sure they'll be kind to you. I don't know where you are in the world but here in the UK there are modern gadgets for plaque removal. Ive had laser removal which was brilliant, real fast and I didn't feel a thing and also the scraping with tools which actually wasn't too bad at all. Incidentally I've discovered a brilliant mouth rinse called Gengigel. Hope that name gets printed rather than being moderated. It's quite expensive but totally worth it. Made my gums smooth and pink rather than swollen and angry. You should find it on Amazon or in a chemist/drugstore.
You have very nice teeth looking at the picture and they deserve a bit of love! Take a deep breath and get that appointment. You won't regret it.

manic monkey said:

Hi there! I'm sorry to hear you are having a bad time with your gums. I'm also terrified of going to the dentist but a year ago I went as I also had problems with my gums. It had been about 8 years since I had been and although I look after my teeth I knew they needed a real good clean. And unfortunately that's one thing you can't do yourself. I had mild gingivitis at the time and going to the dentist was the best thing I could have done. Looking at the picture of your gums I would say you do have some gingivitis but honestly be brave and make that appointment. Tell them that you are very nervous. Millions of people are. Dentists are used to that and I'm sure they'll be kind to you. I don't know where you are in the world but here in the UK there are modern gadgets for plaque removal. Ive had laser removal which was brilliant, real fast and I didn't feel a thing and also the scraping with tools which actually wasn't too bad at all. Incidentally I've discovered a brilliant mouth rinse called Gengigel. Hope that name gets printed rather than being moderated. It's quite expensive but totally worth it. Made my gums smooth and pink rather than swollen and angry. You should find it on Amazon or in a chemist/drugstore.
You have very nice teeth looking at the picture and they deserve a bit of love! Take a deep breath and get that appointment. You won't regret it.

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Hi, thanks for your reply. I was able to get an appointment for Thursday so we'll see what happens then. My mom thinks it's only going to be a loss of forty bucks. She doesn't think they will do anything about it. I'm in the US so I don't think we have that here. I looked it up on Amazon but I can't see myself importing mouthwash. Hopefully there's some cheaper equivalent here in the US.

It looks like gingivitis and the treatment is simple. Clean it and keep it clean. Local anesthesia might be required so the procedure is comfortable.

I agree it may be gingivitis. I had tartar build up at the back of my teeth and my gums looked red but not swollen. I hadn't been back to the dentist for a while and I suffer with anxiety like yourself and used to get panic attacks but is under control now. I was scared of going to the dentist but had to, as I was having a problem with one tooth and the dentist I saw was nice and said I needed to have my teeth cleaned from the hygienist. It lasted 30 minutes and it wasn't too bad, I was a bit tense but it was fine. You can feel a bit of scraping near the gums and so on but nothing too bad and you can ask to spit when you need to and rinse your mouth and so on so you can get a bit of a break in between. You may not necessarily need to be under anesthesia depending on what your dentist or hygienist wants you to have done, it might be just a cleaning up of tartar with the electric scaler, polishing your teeth, which is painless, just like brushing your teeth and they will give you advice on flossing and looking after your teeth. I have also tried gengigel and find it really helps with swollen and irritated gums, which I also got from Amazon, I buy pretty much all my things on there. I live in the UK and we have it in stores as well so maybe in the US they would too. Just look after your gums and teeth after that and you'll be fine, nothing to worry about. If I can get through it then so can you, just let the hygienist know about your worries and I'm sure they'll be understanding.

I went. They took x-rays of my entire mouth and that's it. They said that I need a cleaning and that the reason my gums are inflamed at the bottom is because I have so much build up. They also said there's some bone loss too. All of this makes me nervous but it costs a lot and I don't have insurance and my mom didn't want to pay out of pocket for the cleaning because she knew my dad would flip out if we went ahead with it. That is a whole big mess on it's own. And indeed once we told him he started flipping out over it and calling them crooks. What he doesn't understand is that no one is going to be cheap when it comes to this. That's just how he is. Besides my being afraid of going that's the other reason. So I don't know what I'm going to do. The lady reassured me that my bottom teeth aren't going to fall out within the next couple of weeks because I'm terrified of that happening. But she highly recommends I get the tartar cleaned up as soon as possible. I was well prepared for them to go ahead and do it but the cost is what is really hurting. I don't have that kind of money. I don't know what to do. I doubt anyone will give me insurance personally. It cost us about $60 today for the xrays and check up. And yes my father even flipped over that.

Thanks for the replies. It did help ease my stomach when I actually went in.

the good news is that gingivitis just needs a very careful and thorough cleaning (scale) to fix - thats available on a very basic insurance package.
The even better news is that once the teeth have been thoroughly cleaned really good homecare will minimise the need for further treatment.
Unfortunately it will cost upfront but the homecare is free!

rob wain said:

the good news is that gingivitis just needs a very careful and thorough cleaning (scale) to fix - thats available on a very basic insurance package.
The even better news is that once the teeth have been thoroughly cleaned really good homecare will minimise the need for further treatment.
Unfortunately it will cost upfront but the homecare is free!

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Thanks but I have no insurance. And they recommended that I come in every six months for a cleaning. So I could get it done but if I never went in again for a cleaning it would eventually ruin what I have left. Either way I look at it it's not good.

It's great news you had the courage to go to the dentist. Well done you! As far as getting your teeth cleaned...are there no dental schools or universities near you that treat the general public for free? Students usually learn on real people as part of their training. At least in th UK they do. The cleaning will really sort your teeth and gums out and afterward scrupulous homecare will definitely minimise further dental problems. I really hope you can get a solution sorted as soon as possible. Good luck!

I am going to go back..if I can..and soon. But I'm still terribly nervous about how much it's going to hurt and how long it's going to take. The lady said she would only numb the bottom front where it's inflamed. Can't I have them numb my whole mouth? I fear I'll be screaming otherwise. I mean they're obligated to numb me if I can't handle the pain, right?

Also would you recommend taking a benedryl before going in for the cleaning? I was kind of sleepy when I went in for the check up from the benedryl I took the night before (I'm a night owl). But I was wondering if it would be smart to take one right as I wake up? If it's going to be a long drawn out thing that I'm terrified of I think I might want to be drowsy for it too. Remember I'll be facing a fear I've had since I was a child.

Hi lila34,

Well done on the progress you have already made, you are doing really well!

Nowadays there is no reason to be in pain whilst at the dentist, if you are uncomfortable you can asked to be numbed at any time. It really doesnt have to hurt!

One thing I will say though is that I dont think it is a good idea to take benedryl before your appointment. There are proper anxiety meds that your dentist can prescribe for you which would be much better. They sometimes give you one to take the night before so you can get some sleep and one to take on the morning of your appointment to help you feel more relaxed. I have not taken these myself but from what I have read on here they have helped a lot of very nervous people be able to face appointments. Why not give your dentist a call and ask about these instead?

Whatever you decide to do please make sure you always inform your dentist of any medication you take as this can affect what they can use ie. If you would prefer to take benedryl just call your dentist and check that it wont affect your treatment first.

Good luck, you can do it!

I applied for free health insurance late last week and am still waiting to be approved/disapproved. Unfortunately, things are worse than I thought. After I brushed tonight I noticed one of my front bottom teeth felt loose. So I inspected it by pulling my lip back and finding out that I can see the tooth where the gum is. Shouldn't the dentist or hygienist mentioned this to me when I was there earlier in March? Or could this have been a recent development..or rather loss this past week.

I'm actually starting to freak out about it. I'm terrified it's going to fall out and I can't even go back until I get insurance. I'm obviously going to need more than a cleaning if pieces of the gum are missing now. As a person who has anxiety issues to begin with I'm quite judgmental over my appearance and worry about what others think of me. I've always been like that. So now if I have teeth go missing in the front where it's obvious it's going to be much harder on me and push me further into depression. I feel like I'm in a no win situation and powerless to do anything about it. I thought the hygienist said I'd be fine and that they won't fall out this soon. Looks like she was wrong. I feel so dumb for believing her.