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Gums feel "raw"

B

blah

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Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
20
Since getting my teeth cleaned I've been trying to keep very good oral health. I've pretty much stopped eating but still brush 4-6 times per day, and floss at least once per day (which is part of the reason why I stopped eating - no food means not having to floss as often).

The gums under my front bottom teeth feel like they have little cuts or sores. I tried looking in a mirror and can't see anything. It's sore on the part of the gum that my tongue would rest on. This is also beginning to happen on my gum on the right side between bottom molar #2 & #3. That one also feels a little inflamed or swollen.

I'm confused and don't know what to do. This is scaring me. :cry: It's making it difficult to brush or floss, let alone do it properly. I'm afraid that it's never going to heal, or get worse, and that as a result my teeth are going to become covered in plaque by my next dentist appointment.

Could it be the toothpaste? I was using Crest Pro Health but would switch it with my kids toothpaste (some other type of Crest for kids). Yesterday I bought a generic Sensodyne with whitening type of toothpaste to see if that would help. So far it still seems like the soreness is getting worse instead of better.

Is there anything I can do to make it go away? I won't even mention the toothache that the one tooth with the inflamed gum has been having. It's been sending pain up into my ear that feels like an ear infection.
 
It sounds to me like you are brushing too often and/or too hard. Try brusing/flossing the normal 2 times a day. Also you shouldn't stop eating....Try rinsing your mouth with warm salt water. You might find it soothing. I use it all the time.
 
Brushing too much can be destructive to the gum tissue. I know I got super paranoid after getting my teeth scaled/planed and have found that cutting back on the brushing actually allowed the healing process to take place.


Warm salt water is good stuff to soothe the irritation.

I had posted about post-procedure sensitivity elsewhere and Gordon recommended using Sensodyne by this method:

The best way to use Sensodyne is NOT to use it as a toothpaste, put a small amount onto your finger and massage it thoroughly into the sensitive area. Do this after brushing your teeth.

Sometimes a high fluoride toothpaste like Duraphat is useful too, use the Duraphat first to brush your teeth with, then slap the Sensodyne on with your finger.


-- I have started using it as such and leaving it on my teeth over night. I've only done this one night so no reported results yet.
 
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Ok, I'll try cutting back on the brushing; although I was doing it gently with a soft brush before. I don't see how it could've possibly irritated my gums. Not to mention the brush shouldn't even really be touching where it hurts too much. I'll also try toothpaste on my teeth while I sleep. As for the salt water, I have been using it but I'm unsure how often it's supposed to be used or how much? I've been doing it like once a day. Is more often needed?

Unfortunately, I really think the tooth that's been aching needs a root canal. :cry: It's had a temporary filling that goes down to the root for 5 or 6 years. I'm too scared to do anything about it. If I can't even get a cleaning without pain, there's no way I can survive a root canal. I just broke down sobbing in front of my husband because I'm so stressed and scared. He said to call the dentist and of course I can't and won't do that.
 
Unfortunately, I really think the tooth that's been aching needs a root canal. :cry: It's had a temporary filling that goes down to the root for 5 or 6 years. I'm too scared to do anything about it. If I can't even get a cleaning without pain, there's no way I can survive a root canal. I just broke down sobbing in front of my husband because I'm so stressed and scared. He said to call the dentist and of course I can't and won't do that.

I agree with Annie you are brushing too much..you will wear your gums away (I've done it myself in places!)...twice a day is ample and once for flossing.

From your other thread I still don't understand..we don't think you have anatomic variation so you should be able to be numbed such that you can have a painfree cleaning and/or root canal.....if there was no charge for extra anaesthetic why didn't you get it (fear of the injections themselves? follow -up ones are usually painfree because the area is already slightly numb?) .....I really don't think they want to be hurting you unnecessarily but if you grin and bear it and don't tell them you can feel stuff...what can they do...they don't all go looking for trouble......the dentist years ago who said he'd maxed out the dose is probably just making excuses since these things vary a lot from person to person.....it is your right to re-arrange the appointment if you can't be adequately numbed...try again another day.... like you say, it's not your fault if it's gone in the wrong place. Actually I'll do a separate thread on dosages....Gordon's on holiday so ZZZ will hopefullly answer.
Corsodyl (oraldene) is good for sore gums as a temporary measure.
 
I always get as much anesthetic as they're willing to give me. I think maybe I had pain in the past because maybe it wasn't injected in the right spot. I don't know. Like I said, I've had wisdom teeth extracted without pain and fillings done without pain.

It's just that I felt pain when the tooth that is not causing problems had the temporary filling put in. Obviously the dentist said he couldn't give me more anesthetic because he already gave me too much so I did the "grin and bear it" thing. So I wonder if he put it in the wrong spot. It doesn't make me any less afraid though.

I've refrained from brushing since this morning but I don't like it. If it doesn't start to feel better in a couple days I'll call the dentist. I'll try some orajel or something too. I don't know. I think my mind goes off the deep end. My gums get sore and I think my mouth is rotting away or something. :p

Edit:
Ewww... I think they might be canker sores. I don't know because I've never had them before. I tried looking inside my mouth again to see what was going on in there. I saw a tiny white dot on one of my gums at the base of one of my teeth. It certainly wasn't where it's the most sore. The gums around my 2nd bottom molar are all sorts of swollen and red. Yuck. I did a quick once over with my toothbrush tonight barely even brushing my teeth. The toothpaste burned too badly when it came in contact with the sores.

Edit #2:
I'm more convinced than ever the sores are from Crest Pro Health. A quick google tells me that this product seems to be notorious for causing sores and red swollen gums. I will be calling my dentist tomorrow and chewing them out for giving me a sample of that stuff. It's pure evil in a tube. :(
 
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