After cleaning

[Zippy1981]

The dentist did my clean yesterday instead of the hygienist. It bloody hurt so much more when she did it.

I woke in the night and found my gums swollen beyond belief and just pain.

I’m due at work tonight but called in sick as I’m in agony and my mouth looks awful. Still so swollen and the gums look bruised. (I’m customer facing...I’d be so embarrassed)

Is this normal? I do have problem gums but it’s never like this after a clean. Have I just been lucky before?

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Zippy1981

So sorry you had this painful cleaning.. that is really hard and nowadays there are so many ways to make it painfree. I've had a lot of painful cleanings then the last 2 were painfree even a painfree scaling with anesthetic.. did they use anesthetic on you?

Sorry you had to go through that.. sounds dreadful..agh. I hope it gets better soon for you!

 

[Zippy1981]

No she didn’t. It was used on me when I first started going back to the dentist as I was so nervous but it’s been phased out.

musically with the hygienist, although it isn’t pleasant...it’s bearable. Yesterday I managed to get through it although at times I felt the need to stop her.

but when I woke in the night, Icouldn’t believe how swollen it all was.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

I would definately ask for the local again next time and personally would ask for the hygenist possibly telling them how hard it was for you .I hope things settle down with swelling and any pain. again so sorry you had to endure that.. sounds really hard both during and after

 

[kitkat]

Zippy ,
I am so sorry that you experienced such a painful cleaning. I too have experienced many painful cleanings in the past. I think that there are several reasons that a cleaning could be painful but in no way would I say that it’s “normal”. Do they use the ultrasonic scaler (it sprays water as it cleans) or are they just scraping with the manual hand tools or both? The hygienist may have a gentler touch or be less heavy handed with the tools so it is more tolerable. Also, I know the ultrasonic scaler has many settings and in my experience, it has sometimes been set too high initially and if it’s uncomfortable my dentist will turn it down a bit. In my experience, the ultrasonic scaler is MUCH gentler and does not take as long to get the job done. I think I would insist on local if doing another cleaning with your dentist and maybe share your experience with them. After my painful cleanings in the past it has mostly settled down in about 2-3 days but I remember being sore for up to a week afterward. Over the counter pain meds and anti-inflammatories helped me a lot. Try to rest some and give yourself a break!