Black on gumline

[Roxychick]

Hi there

Can you tell me if there is black around the gumline of some teeth if these teeth are saveable? even with a lot of work, and if so..what is involved?

Thanks

Rox xx

 

[Gordon]

How much “black”? Do you mean a thin line or something else? Like I said in the the other thread, they're perfectly saveable most of the time.

 

[Roxychick]

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for replying Sorry, I didn't see this on another thread.

Yeah... like thin black lines on a couple and black dots on others... (black dots might be just wear and tear after a long absense even?)

What would saving them involve? Deep cleaning / hygienist work or dentist work? (please excuse my foolish questions...lol)

With thanks

Rox

 

[Gordon]

Sounds like simple staining, so either a dentist or hygienist could deal with it. It's kind of hard to tell from your description, but the only other thing it might be would be some tartar (also known as calculus) then that might need a slightly deeper cleaning.

 

[Roxychick]

Brilliant, phew!!!... Think its a mixture of both . I was expecting you to say “BLACK... they're all coming out!!! “ So, knowing if the teeth and gums are otherwise ok they can be saved is very reassuring

Thanks again
Rox

 

[rosy]

I also have some black around my gumline on about 4 teeth. It has pushed my gumline down a little and it feel crusty and hard do you think this is also calculus?

 

[Gordon]

Most definitely sounds like it. There are 2 varieties of calculus, subgingival and supragingival. The former is a sort of dark grey/black colour, the latter is more of a creamy colour. The former is also more damaging to the tissues and should be removed ASAP.

 

[Clexa]

I had that and I was like, “oh no I cannot deal with more cavities”
so I went to a mirror and took something hard and sharp and scraped hard on it, like they do at the dentist, and it came off, because it was plaque, it looked like a cavity/cavities, but it wasnt! woohoo! maybe you have the same thing i did?

 

[Gordon]

Sorry, couple of scary pictures and follow up posts removed for reasons of good taste

 

[harper]

thanks for that gordon

 

[Issy]

Yeah thanks   Those pictures were enough to give me nightmares. Made me feel very sick

 

[harper]

i dont scare easy but they were horrible

 

[Issy]

I was eating at the time and couldn't eat another mouthful ! 1 Pic was particulary bad ...

 

[freakout]

Ahh yes...while they were quite graphic, it does prove that mine were not the worst teeth the dentist has seen

 

[Issy]

Ahh yes...while they were quite graphic, it does prove that mine were not the worst teeth the dentist has seen

Yeah mine too

 

[Zzzdentist]

Whups. If you go to Google, click images, and search for “dental calculus” those are pretty much the first pictures you get. I hope no one was eating an egg mcmuffin at the time.

Those photos did make me want to reach for the ol' trusty Cavitron and start scaling away! I've actually seen one patient from Vietnam, I think it was, who never had a cleaning ever. He was about 35 years old, and he had baked on tartar that was so thick it was obscuring his lower teeth. I had to have my assistant use the high volume to snatch up the chunks that broke away. It ended up clogging the vacuum tube a few times.

Maybe it's a dental thing, but it was actually quite satisfying chipping away large chunks of the stuff. The teeth slowly became apparent, and you just knew that the gums would start bouncing back to health.

Me, I kind of try to overlook the “ugliness” and “graphic” nature of the things I encounter in people's mouths. I just see the potential to help people out. It's like if you have a deformed child as a patient. Do you consider them “graphic” or “hideous” or do you just see them as an unforunate soul who just so happens to be afflicted by a severe malformation?

I had a 6 year old girl with what must have had some form of neurofibromatosis, the type of disease John Merrick had. A large part of her skull and face were enlarged and deformed. I suppose if I posted a photo of her many people would be shocked, but you know what? She was one of the best patients I've ever had. She was such a sweet child, and she had the eyes of an angel. I think they had to enucleate one of her eyes due to some pathology a few months later after I saw her, but wow what a trooper. Imagine your ideal dental patient, and there I had her in the chair.

The parents had taken her for numerous surgeries over the years to try to improve the situation, but you could tell there was only so much the surgeons could do. If you had a chance to meet this little person, you would see the strong little, beautiful girl underneath the malformed exterior. I guess sometimes you have to look at things from a different perspective.

Those people with the severe calculus in the photos must have either been dentophobic or not had access to adequate dental care for quite some time.