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gum irritation or something worse? anxiety in covid time

J

jannet

Junior member
Joined
May 12, 2020
Messages
1
Location
toronto
Hello: this is my first time posting, but this forum has been so helpful to me over the years! I have finally made the steps to see a dentist a few years ago and was able to do an exam and then cleaning and one filling thanks to sedation. I also had a wisdom tooth removed, which was a big step for me but since nothing else was "urgent" I haven't followed up since.

A few days ago when eating, a sliced almond pierced my upper right gum. It hurt a lot and even more when I removed it with floss. The irritation remained and was worse when I flossed that night. The pain started to give me anxiety so I emailed my dentist to see what options I have in the event that it is actually a deeper dental issue. He told me that his office is closed due to covid and that emergency dental offices aren't offering sedation. Also, he said that I had a very slight indication of early decay on one of the teeth next to the gum area in question.

I am desperately hoping that this is just a gum injury and not something worse. I haven't slept for days and am super anxious. With my kids home all day, I am trying hard to keep it together. The pain has been getting better and it is only the gum that is irritated, the two teeth (premolar and molar) do not hurt at all. Has anyone experienced gum injury like this, and how long did it take to heal?

Also: is it possible that the gum pain caused by being pierced by the almond is not just gum irritation, but in fact a deeper (and far worse) dental issue that's brewing? (which would basically be my worse nightmare, given I can't go to my regular dentist and be sedated) :(

Thanks in advance.
 
Jannet,

:welcome: Welcome to the forum! I can imagine it is hard to have this kind of hanging out there not knowing how bad this is or what exactly. if its more superficial or deeper. and a hard time to have it happen in the midst of Covid.

I hope you can get some answers and peace soon, maybe relaxed rules on going to dentist so you can get your peace of mind. Hoping you can find an answer and relief soon. I know just not knowing is very anxiety producing .
 
Hi Jannet,

lovely to have you here and great to read how far you have come!

Gums can get hurt the same way your skin can and it only makes sense that such an injury needs a little time to heal. I think the fact that the pain got better shows that everything is fine. Remember that our bodies have their mechanisms to cope with things like that. I am sure the gum calms down soon.

To give you some good news about the decay, here is an article about what you can do to stop it from getting worse. Development of tooth decay is a dynamic process and there is a lot what you can do.

All the best wishes and keep us posted
 
My son had a piece of apple peel that did that, and it actually got shoved under his gum. It was on a Friday, and our dentists office is closed on Fridays. I called and left a message and the dentist called back and said I could try to remove it with floss and tweezers and she would get him in Monday.
We got the apple peel out and his gums swelled up and were very red for about a week, but it wasn’t any lasting damage and it went back to normal.
 
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