How to combat receding gums?
When my dentist saw my own receded gumline, she explained that she sees it a lot in young women. Apparently some of us want really white, clean, pretty teeth and become over-enthusiastic brushers and brush away our gumlines. I started to get really scared about my gums when a woman I worked with told me she had to have painful skin grafts done on hers, due to severe receeding. To prevent my gums from receding further, I got a nice electric toothbrush (a Braun) that makes it hard for me to unconciously grind away on my teeth. I also quit brushing my teeth throughout the day (after meals) and now brush in the morning and before bed. Breath mints, mouthwash, dental floss and toothpicks help satisfy my clean mouth obsession without destroying my gums.
I brushed too hard as well, and had no idea it would be a problem. A year ago, for the first time in several years, I saw the dentist because of bleeding gums. I was past gingivitis, and had periodontitis. The gum erosion is irreversible, but there’s a huge amount of damage limitation. Floss, , every single day. If you find flossing with a length of floss difficult, use one of the flossing tools readily available in CVS or Walgreen’s. Use an electric toothbrush, or if you can’t afford one, a Pulsar toothbrush, which is about $5 (my dentist says they’re nearly as good as a Sonicare) and also use those little interdental brushes too. If your teeth, like mine, have odd spaces, buy different sized ones. Brush thoroughly, but gently. Corsodyl also helped. I hated the taste of the mouthwash, so would brush every night with the gel. A year on, I’ve been diligent with my dental regime and my hygienist is delighted with my progress. My gums no longer bleed, hot and cold drinks aren’t a problem
