Gingivitis - can I see a hospital dentist?

Butterfliesarepretty

Ive been with my dentist for over ten years now, anyway he died a few years ago, new dentist has been there three years now. I have good teeth and always looked after them. In 2010 I developed bleeding gums across the top, dentist kept telling me to use corsodyl, went through two bottles of the stuff, went back and got told to carry on using it. Dentist didnt seem worried, at the time my teeth would start bleeding on their own when sat in the office at work. Anyway from the lack of action from my dentist I complained to the nhs about them, they chased my dentist to treat me properly. I had to pay extra for a deep clean at £25 and last time I had them cleaned I politely asked as I clean my teeth twice a day and floss how long it would take to clear up. Hygienist answered with 'well if you clean them properly they will clear up' - i thought she was cheeky cow as my previous dentist was professional and told me I was very thorough with cleaning my teeth.

Now its till there a bit, but only bleeds a bit when I brush. I dont want to go back to my dentist as she never takes me seriously and when I had the deep clean I was so stressed about it I was in tears and the hygienist gave me injection while she cleaned them. They went pink for a week then went red round edges of tooth again.

I want to go my doctor and request to see a hospital dentist as I want it gone. its not painful or anything but the redness round edges still there. Or do I need to join another dentist. I just want it gone.

My dad had gingivitis in the early 70s and had to have all his teeth out.
Anyone else had this. I want it stopped as its nearly 2012 and ill have had it for two years.:eek:

Dizzy_Ditzy

your doctor wont refer you to a hospital dentist, your dentist would have to do that, and you would have to wait for maybe about 3 months for an appointment.

Or you could see another dentist?

mustmakealist

I think that you might be better off trying to find a more sympathetic dentist. Can you ask any of your friends what their dentist are like?

There's no guarantee that a hospital dentist would be any better than your current one just because they are in a hospital and you wouldn't necessarily see the same dentist at different appointments. They may not be able to provide the services of a hygienist

Toothsmith

I'm afraid this is a tooth cleaning problem.

I don't think you've been very well looked after, and it could probably have been pointed out a bit more diplomatically.

Repeated use of Corsodyl won't solve the problem,and the dentist and hygienist should have got in there, pointed out where you were missing, shown you how to get it better, and then monitored you to make sure you were staying on top of it.

Things change in your mouth. Teeth wear a bit and move a bit and teeth that were once easy to keep clean with little thought can develop nooks and crannies that are much harder to clean effectively and need the help of little interspace brushes and generally a lot more time and effort spending on them than you were able to get away with before.

The fact that for a week after a good clean up they were pink and healthy, but then things went downhill again, back this up.

You need to find a place where either the dentist or hygienist will spend a bit of time with you, point out that there is no shame in having a bit of difficulty with brushing effectively (After all, it's hardly an instinctive thing, and people are rarely ever shown how to do it properly - they just sort of pick it up and hope for the best!) Then work with you to develop an effective routine that will keep on top of things in between regular, effective professional cleans.

brook2jack

Buy some disclosing tablets. Your gums went pink because they were healthy, they went red again because plaque was building up around the gums again. Most people don't floss or brush properly and if all other reasons have been eliminated this is your problem.

Have you been shown how to floss and brush effectively? Did you take your toothbrush with you and have you been shown how to use it in your mouth?

Gum disease and especially gingivitis is never cured it is only kept under control by 80% your effort and 20% hygienist effort.

You will not be able to see a hospital dentist with simple gingivitis but if you are not being shown how to keep your disease under control yourself then you may have to swap dentists. However if you have had scaling with anaesthetic etc it really is only working hard yourself you will find you get results. Buy some disclosing tablets and use them to see where you are missing with the cleaning.

System

My gums used to be red until I brushed them. Amazing difference. I spend more time now brushing the gums rather than the teeth.

Sparklyfairy

You MUST floss daily. Also, if you can, buy a rotating toothbrush to use at least twice a day. Use it on BOTH sides of each tooth. Beware of gum erosion. Weekly I brush with bicarbonate of soda & hydrogen peroxide (99p from Boots Chemist counter)It REALLY makes a difference! I really woke up to my dental hygiene when I heard that there is a link between dental care & heart disease. I don't mean to be a scare monger but it's worth a google search! Also, I want to be old & have all of my own teeth x

McKneff

The trouble is we all think we are cleaning our teeth properly, for years and years and the real truth is that we arent
until we are taught properly by a good dentist.

I use daily a Tepe brushes now on bottom teeth, floss doesnt do it, it just pushes debris out, Tepe brushes actually clean the inbetwen of teeth, lost all my top ones, i take so much more care now after proper instruction.

Butterfliesarepretty

McKneff wrote: »

The trouble is we all think we are cleaning our teeth properly, for years and years and the real truth is that we arent
until we are taught properly by a good dentist.

I use daily a Tepe brushes now on bottom teeth, floss doesnt do it, it just pushes debris out, Tepe brushes actually clean the inbetwen of teeth, lost all my top ones, i take so much more care now after proper instruction.

Ive tried tepe brushes they just bend in half when i try to use them between the teeth. My teeth are very close together, tried flossing too, been shown how to clean my teeth, I used to use a rotating brush but it broke and now I just use the normal hand brush ones.
I use bicarbonate of soda toothpaste, always brush my gums too. Its only on the top part, Im going to have to get tougher with my top teeth then. Yes i think i will try and get with another dentist. Ive really tried these last twelve months.

I feel like my present dentist just is not interested. I will make a start tonight and tomorrow try some of that boots peroxide at 99p and see if that helps.
Feel really bad about this.:(

brook2jack

You have to floss not just try . Otherwise you are not cleaning 50% of the gum. You have to get floss underneath the gum line.
Peroxide, bicarbonate toothpastes won't make much difference if you are not physically removing the plaque. No toothpaste/mouthwash in the world can get through a nice layer of plaque.

If your gums bleed when you brush its tempting not to brush so hard next time to "let them settle down". In fact you should do exactly the opposite if gums bleed brush even more in this area and in 7 to 10 days the bleeding will stop. However don't floss or brush so well and within a day the gums will bleed and go red and after 72 hours tartar may start to form.

Butterfliesarepretty

brook2jack wrote: »

You have to floss not just try . Otherwise you are not cleaning 50% of the gum. You have to get floss underneath the gum line.
Peroxide, bicarbonate toothpastes won't make much difference if you are not physically removing the plaque. No toothpaste/mouthwash in the world can get through a nice layer of plaque.

If your gums bleed when you brush its tempting not to brush so hard next time to "let them settle down". In fact you should do exactly the opposite if gums bleed brush even more in this area and in 7 to 10 days the bleeding will stop. However don't floss or brush so well and within a day the gums will bleed and go red and after 72 hours tartar may start to form.

Well Ive just flossed right up the gum line of every tooth I can reach. Cant reach the back ones. Scrubbed hard with my toothbrush across and up and down and on the back of my top teeth. Its only my top row thats the problem. My old dentist who died showed me how to remove the tartar from my bottom teeth that cross over each other with the interdental pick (metal) and my new dentist said I shouldnt use that but it removes it and I always brush behind my teeth.

Also used the interdental brushes but they wont push through near the gum line. So I brushed them against the red edges of the gums and they bled a bit.
Flossed like mad around the affected area. They are slightly tender now but I am determined to spend more time on my teeth before bed and in morning now.

Question to everyone, when you brush - DO YOU RINSE EVERYTHING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH.

I always have and think that is not a good thing?