[hl0m4n]

so i went to the dentist for my annual checkup and found out i have Gingival Recession aka receding gums.

he showed me a mirror and pointed at my front bottom tooth and you can see alittle bit of the root below it and the gum receded down.

i was shocked at first as i have never noticed it and asked how does this happen.

his first question was how i brush and i showed him with a brush he gave me. found out i was brushing my teeth the wrong way. i always did the back and forth motion and he tells me that is wrong and to use a circular motion.

i didn't think it was a big deal as he didn't say much of it other than to brush gently and use a brush with soft bristles.

i came home and did some research and seems like this is a pretty big issue, can lead to stroke, infections, etc if roots are exposed even partially like mine.

so i looked at treatmens and found i might need a gum grafting & the shit looks painful as fuck.

i was hoping that if i brush the proper way my gums can regrow but it seems gums don't regrow once destroyed .

and to further worsen the situation, it is not just my front bottom tooth. if i take my nail and touch at the bottom of my other teeth where the gum line is, it is sensitive as hell which tells me that the gum line is receding everywhere else but the partial exposed root is only on my front bottom.

i don't have any pain/feeling when eating or drinking (which is why i never noticed) only when i touch it with my nail do i get the very sensitive feeling.

fuck i don't know what to do. got to make another dentist appointment to get second opinion....

anyone here get something similar done based on my situation?

im depressed, sad, & scared at the same time. hope it isn't nothing major...

PS: happy july 4th guys .

[Cloud]

lol, my story's even worse. I'm 25 and the doctor told me last friday that my front tooth has to be extracted due to a failed root canal treatment. The abscess caused a loss of bone so I have to undergo bone grafting(4 months wait time) and then do a dental implant which is not covered by insurance. It will cost me about $3000 total. FML

[iBoost]

Damn sorry to hear man. Never heard of this before.

I just got 2 root cannals retreated, since they were infected again, they've been a pain in the ass. One of them is bothering me again might just get it pulled out.

All dental stuff is so delicate though and almost all worsens if not treated right away. With that said you should definitely get it taken care of asap. Good luck

[hl0m4n]

damn cloud that sounds like hell, hope all works out man. you can always post your updates on this thread though talk it out .

and yea iboost i def have to take care of it asap and i agree with you man the mouth is so delicate and sensitive i hate going to the dentist and getting it worked on.

i have no problems anywhere on my body but the 2 things i hate getting checked are teeth and nose.

its 5:52 and ive been up just researching this shit... imma still enjoy my bbq today though, all the best.

[SilverII]

i had something similar done. Mine was too much crap under the gums. they had to peel back the gums and clean it up. I had a mouth full of stitches for about 1 week. You cant eat/drink without any pain for 1.5 months. I lost like 20 lbs during that time.

Cost like $5K after insurance

[ncarter124]

OP.

I haven't, but I had a friend at work that did have the gum grafting done. He went into it scared but after it was done admitted it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought, and was back into the swing of things after just a few days. It's no picnic obviously, but it's probably not as bad as you are thinking.

[CarForHire]

Best of luck, I know how you feel.

[quagmire]

I swear there has been great debate between the circular motion and the method you use. I have heard from a lot of people that circular is better, but it seems to me I have heard the other way makes no difference either.

[fatjoez]

how do you even do circular motions with a normal toothbrush???
i mean a tooth is like tiny seriously its not like you got a paintbrush on a paper that you can properly do circular motions

on another small note.
i went to the dentist saying i got a chip tooth think i need a filing.
he said yeah, oh and you need 5 other fillings in other teeth too.. great.
brush every night but apparently its the lack of flossing...

also suggested i get ALL FOUR wisdom teeth pulled.......
seriously..

[CantDrv55]

Your dentist must suck if they just dropped this on you. It didn't happen overnight. At my last 6 month cleaning, the hygienist mentioned to me that I had a bit of one small spot receding on my lower gums, from brushing too hard. It was a low enough amount that I was able to remedy it by changing my brushing technique. That said, how did they not mention to you that you had some issues way before now, the shit is noticeable to someone who knows what they are looking at.

[hl0m4n]

^ thats what i thought too as this is a progressive thing that happens. i only visit the dentist once a year so it might have happened in the year, the damage is already done so what else can i do.

[py335]

sorry to hear that OP. best of luck with everything and im sure it'll all work out and not be as bad as you think it is

[fatjoez]

duno bout you but wat ive heard is dentist every 6months

[PsychoSlug]

Originally Posted by Cloud

lol, my story's even worse. I'm 25 and the doctor told me last friday that my front tooth has to be extracted due to a failed root canal treatment. The abscess caused a loss of bone so I have to undergo bone grafting(4 months wait time) and then do a dental implant which is not covered by insurance. It will cost me about $3000 total. FML

Going through something similar right now. Initial extractions and bone implant was in 2/09. The post (root) was implanted 1/10. This weekend I go to make sure the bone is solid so I can get my permanent implant. I can't wait because this "flipper" drives me nuts. Feels like peanut butter on the roof of my mouth all the time.

[kyleb350]

Yes OP, I am in the exact same boat as you. I was notified my gums were receding on my uppers on the inside.

I'm obviously nervous like you and have stopped using my harsh Sonicare toothbrush (I shouldn't label the device as "harsh", but it's very effective and I used it very aggresively) and gone back to a manual brush. I have also not used the swirling motion for brushing so much and have used more of a brushing downward motion all in an effort to prevent further recession. I was told, though, that the grafting surgery is most likely the only way to fix this problem. <sigh>

Please let me know if you go through with the surgery and how it went as I am very hesitant as well. I, of course, will do the same if I get the guts and time to do so.