Question:
Hi David,
Thank you for your website! I find it to be very informative! I plan on purchasing the products you listed on your site to help me with gum disease issue.
At age 26, I was diagnosed with mild periodontal disease and I would like to know – is there a cure for this? My dentist and every website I researched this question on says NO. But I don’t know- could there be?
I was never raised to floss and brush 2x a day so prior to age 26, I would never floss and only brushed my teeth in the morning – so I guess it is my fault why I am in the awful predicament – Oh how I wish I knew better then!
I am now 28 and though I brush 2x a day, and floss the gum pockets in my mouth have now increased from mild to moderate! What am I doing wrong???
I feel like I have tried everything in my power to make my gums better to but to no avail and it is so depressing! I am genuinely scared to death of losing my teeth.
Two weeks ago, I had the dentist perform a deep cleaning to my teeth and gums and have bought and am now using a mouth irrigator (Water Pik) and Peridex mouthwash – but this morning, I woke up with puffy gums around my bottom 6 teeth.
So my question to you is what were the depth of your gum pockets before and after you started implementing your program? I guess I can use some hope right now.
Thank you for your time
—
Stephanie
Answer:
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for writing in with your question. Your situation saddens me so much that I decided to stay in tonight to answer your question instead of going out to my favorite hang out to be with friends.
There are two action steps for you to consider right now:
1. Go to a periodontist immediately.
2. Consider reading:Â How To Stop Gum Disease In 4 Easy Steps
In modern dentistry, they typically do not believe there is a cure for periodontal disease. However, they generally believe that it may be controlled and that is what you are going to want to look into.
What I say on this page is said in general, for specific questions about your situation ask your dentist or doctor.
I have not been in your dentist’s shoes and I have not seen your mouth and I have no idea what shape your are currently in. So I don’t want to comment on that too much. But I know this – it sounds like you could use some improvement.
Generally, you are going to want to pay attention to your periodontal pocket depths. You want to get them to 3mm and below.  They should take those measurements for you at every visit.  If you do not know where you are now, find out. Based on what you wrote, it sounds like you may already know.
What you do at home is the crucial point here. The dentist can only see you a few times per year but the fight against gum disease is truly a daily one. Whatever you are doing at home, you can measure your results by those pocket depths. If the pockets are getting smaller at each visit, then you know you are headed in the right direction. If they are getting worse, then you need to think about adjusting what you are doing at home.
The link above: How To Stop Gum Disease In 4 Easy Steps is worth taking a look at. It is a short read, about 30 pages but it may provide you with insight that you do not currently have.  If you want to read more in depth, check out the book: What You Should Know About Gum Disease. You can find it at ToothyGrinsStore.com and with other online book sellers. It is about 244 pages.
It is interesting that you didn’t floss before the age of 26. I find that unusual, but I guess it is possible. That is likely a contributing factor to your problems today. You didn’t mention it, but do you have a lot of fillings and cavities too?
May I suggest that you make an appointment with your periodontist immediately? I would try to find a good periodontist who’s primary interest is in saving teeth and one who is less interested in pulling them and installing implants. This may take a bit of looking on your part but the results could be worth it to you. I am sure you will agree that it is better to save your natural teeth if it is possible.
Are you on Peridex because of your recent ‘deep cleaning’? Peridex is a brand name for chlorhexidine gluconate. I am sure your doctor told you, but it is for short term use only. Generally speaking, they do not want you to use it for more than two weeks because it causes strong staining of the teeth.
This is a side note: I have a relative who believes her dental health went down hill after her ‘deep cleaning’ treatment. Many times, those who have one ‘deep cleaning’ treatment will need another again down the road. Again, the real objective measure is those periodontal pocket depths. Regardless of treatment or home care methods, those pocket depths are your objective gauge to know if you are making progress or not.
I avoided my prescribed SRP. I used the Hydro Floss oral irrigator and did some other things at home and 5 months later my dentist agreed that I no longer needed that treatment. This is after she previously told me, ‘nothing else would help’.
I’m going to tell you that I believe your periodontal health can improve, but you may need to work a bit to make it happen. I have informed you of how to measure your results. I hope you caught that.
There are two aspects to keeping your gums healthy. Both are needed and one will not save you without the other. You need both professional care and better home care.
1. Professional care – Right now, you need the help of a good periodontist. Trust me on this one. They know more about taking care of your gum tissue than general dentists do. They have more professional training specifically on gum tissue health and disease. He will work with you in conjunction with a good hygienist who will work from his office.
2. Home care – This is where you have admittedly failed in the past ( failure to brush and floss). However, you should know that I personally believe that brushing and flossing are not always enough for the vast majority of people anyway. You need additional tools and understandings to help you with your home care. I say this because dental professionals will readily tell you that up to 75% of people have some gum disease right now.
There are so many things I want to tell you right now, Stephanie, that it could fill a whole book. And it has. I’m going to recommend that you read my book, What You Should Know about Gum Disease, to help you understand your situation better and to get a better idea of the home care tools and techniques that are available to you. These are things that your dentist or periodontist might not have time to educated you about. Because of time constraints, they may not tell you everything I have written about in the home care section of my book – chapter 3.
Also, it is a pretty good bet that you haven’t been fully educated about what gum disease is and what causes it – and therefore, what you can do about it. That is probably not your fault. Dentists are pretty busy and I’ve not been to one yet that has fully explained things to me. I needed to go out and do a lot of research to reach the understandings that I have today.
I want to make perfectly clear that I am all for professional dental care and I acknowledge that it is needed. When it comes to your gum health, please see a periodontist.
Now, I’m not here to comment negatively on any products, but you mentioned that you bought a particular product. You know what kind of oral irrigator I recommend already ( the Hydro Floss). It is the only one I recommend and the reason why is: It is the one that worked for me.
In addition, there are professional studies that show it’s effectiveness (2 that I know of) One is described here. Because of my personal experience and these two studies, I really believe in the ability of the Hydro Floss to help. I can’t say that others don’t work because I haven’t tried them, but I do know what helped me and what the scientific literature says about the Hydro Floss and how it does better than irrigators that don’t use its patented technology. The others may work to reduce plaque too, but I’m skeptical that they are as good as a Hydro Floss at reducing plaque and tartar buildup between office visits.
You’ll likely want to read the information in my book and consider asking your periodontist about the other things I mention in chapter 3 that can help you.
I suggest reading the first 7 chapters of the book. You can skip the appendix. And I recommend that you read them over and over again until the information completely sets in. This way, you will at least be better informed about what you are facing.
Your situation is needing real attention – that is why I stayed home to answer your question tonight. There are two action steps for you to follow right now. 1. Go to a periodontist immediately.
2. Consider reading:Â How To Stop Gum Disease In 4 Easy Steps
Here is another pointer for you. Do not brush hard. The dental plaque is what you are trying to disrupt and that is easy to do. It just has to be done consistently. Brushing hard can cause your gum tissue to recede further – especially if it is in a diseased state.
I wish you the best of luck and you should have further questions as you move further – I expect that you will if you are truly working to solve this problem. Feel free to come to this site and submit any future questions you might have.
BTW – to answer you last question. My pockets were mostly 4s with a few 5s. There were no sixes or beyond. Now, my gums are really healthy, but I am stuck with the recession. There isn’t much that dentistry currently believes in that can make the recession go away except for gum grafts and bone implants in some cases – I’m hoping that will change in the future. You might see a SLIGHT reduction in the recession if you get your gum tissue healthy. However, you can stop the recession from getting worse – but you must do the serious work to make it happen.
On the other hand, I do believe in that with some additional information and effort, you can make real improvements as measured by your periodontal pocket depths.
So, please do not think that your situation is hopeless.
Again, everything said here was said in general. For specific answers about your own situation, please visit your doctor or dentist for those answers.
Good luck Stephanie, I believe you can do it. Please come back here to keep us posted on your progress.
How To Stop Gum Disease in 4 Easy Steps
* Please be advised that this post is for information purposes only and does not intend to render advice, diagnosis or treatment on any health condition. Only your licensed doctor or dentist can give advice, diagnosis and render treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated any statements about any products found on this site.