Curing or managing gum disease?

falko89

This is something I have suffered from since my late teens so over 10 years now and I can't seem to shift it.

I get my teeth cleaned every time I am in with the dentist, I have stopped smoking for over a year now, I brush twice daily and use corsodyl mouthwash along with using them little in between teeth brushes but nothing works.

The only thing that did cure it was when my dentist put me on a course of antibiotics at one stage, it cured up while I was taking the tablets but as soon as I finished the course back it came with the bleeding gums etc.

Every time I visit the dentist (twice a year) I get accused of not doing the above, she doesn't seem able to suggest anything else.

brook2jack

Has anyone ever watched you floss and brush your teeth? The majority of people do not floss or use tepe brushes (little brushes) properly and few people use the right size of tooth brush or use a toothbrush effectively.

No one should be using corsodyl long term as it stains teeth, there is some evidence to say bacteria can become resistant to chlorhexidine the active ingredient and allergy is a growing problem.

Antibiotics are not a cure for gum disease they just surpress the symptoms for a while.

A dentists cleaning will not cure gum disease as if your cleaning remains ineffective tartar will start to build up again in 72 hours.

So the best first step is to take your toothbrush and tepe brushes in for an appointment and get your dentist or hygienist to check your technique. You are probably cleaning your teeth but not your gums.

A.Penny.Saved

It's bacteria that causes gum disease and you have to control and inhibit them to prevent it. Mouth washes are a total waste of time and will only make the bacteria in your mouth more hardy and resistant, it's called natural selection. Bacteria can adapt so quickly to any anti bacterial substances that they are best avoided. Use bacteria against bacteria is the best way of doing it! Then they naturally adapt against each other to survive and that is the only effective method of controlling bacteria!

The bacteria to target in particular are Streptococcus mutans which causes decay, plaque and gum disease. It is also believed to be implicated in heart disease. It's not the only bacteria responsible because there are quite a number of oral pathogens. It's a natural balance which creates a healthy mouth and helps to control pathogenic bacteria. Therefore supplementing with the correct bacteria can naturally control disease encouraging bacteria.

I have some Probiotic Mints by Garden of Life called Probiotic Smile which provide 3 bacteria which compete with oral pathogenic bacteria. It also contains a number of other recognised beneficial substances such as Xylitol which has been shown to benefit tooth re-mineralisation and act as a Quorum Sensing Inhibitor against bacteria in a biofilm such as dental plaque. Vanilla which is also in these mints is also a QSI which I have been investigating for use against biofilms. Spearmint, also in the mints, is also effective against biofilms, I have spearmint essential oil as well. The bacteria are streptococcus oralis, streptococcus uberis and streptococcus rattus.

I have been intending to culture these bacteria but have not found time to do it so far with Christmas and a number of other things using up my time. I often make yoghurt from probiotic capsule sources but ATM I don't know whether these bacteria will be able to be cultured using milk. It would make the perfect substance, a thick substance which could be worked around the gums. However these bacteria do not produce lactic acid, which is why they are beneficial to teeth and why the harmful ones are so damaging leading to decay, so I don't know whether they will thicken yoghurt or feed off milk and lactose.

I will find a way to culture these because I don't intend keep spending money on probiotics, after all bacteria reproduce if given a chance so why pay someone to make this stuff?

A link with a little information but not specifically about what you want. It will give you some ideas.

Toothsmith

But whilst you wait for Prof Pat Pending there, who's grasp of oral bacteria seems a little over-simple to me, but I await the results of his clinical trials with interest...

I would just get your brushing technique looked at as Brook suggested, as it really isn't rocket science controlling gum disease in the vast majority of cases.

Get the plaque and debris off the teeth, and it doesn't really matter what sort of bacteria they are, as they're not around in sufficient numbers to cause any harm anymore.

sixtiesgal_2

falko89 wrote: »

This is something I have suffered from since my late teens so over 10 years now and I can't seem to shift it.

I get my teeth cleaned every time I am in with the dentist, I have stopped smoking for over a year now, I brush twice daily and use corsodyl mouthwash along with using them little in between teeth brushes but nothing works.

The only thing that did cure it was when my dentist put me on a course of antibiotics at one stage, it cured up while I was taking the tablets but as soon as I finished the course back it came with the bleeding gums etc.

Every time I visit the dentist (twice a year) I get accused of not doing the above, she doesn't seem able to suggest anything else.

I can so relate to this. I've had gum disease for about seventeen years now. I see the hygienist every three months for a scale and polish. I use the little brushes and clean my teeth twice a day with an electric toothbrush as recommended by the dentist and hygienist, I use Cordysol but only when my gums are really sore, not all the time.

For the past few years my gums haven't troubled me and I've kept on top of things but last summer I started with bad toothache and aching gums. I went to dentists, had an xray and was told I'd got an infection in my tooth, I was put on antibiotics and advised that if the pain were to come back it would be best to have my tooth out. The antibiotics cleared it up straight away and I was pain free for a few months and then a couple of weeks ago the pain came back but this time moreso in my gums. I tried to fend it off with painkillers but it kept persisting and got really bad so I went to the dentists again and was told this time its a gum infection and nothing to do with the infected tooth. I was put on antibiotics again, they have worked but not as much as before and I still have a bit of niggling soreness in my gums and I feel off colour in myself, I keep getting flu like symptoms which I have been told are part and parcel of the infection. I keep thinking that any day the intense pain is going to come back again and I don't know what can be done about it. I am looking after my teeth and gums and if the antibiotics stop working will the only answer be to have all my teeth out? I do fear this happening. Sorry to hijack this thread but it just speaks volumes to me at the moment and I will be interested in any advice.

brook2jack

Antibiotics and corsodyl are not a cure for gum disease. They merely suppress the symptoms for a short while.

First and foremost you need to get someone to check your cleaning and tepe use as few people actually clean their gums effectively.

Dentists and hygienists do not cure gum disease they merely help patients to control their own gum disease.

The second most important factor after effective cleaning is smoking. Smoking suppresses the immune reaction, decreases the blood supply to the gums and lets gum disease progress unchecked . If you smoke stop otherwise you are stuck with gum disease.

The third important thing is if you are diabetic keep your diabetes well under control, diabetes is a risk factor for gum disease.

There are fancy things that can be done for gum disease but in the end all treatment is aimed at helping people control their own gum disease by EFFECTIVE cleaning.