r/DentalHygiene

Hi friends,

I’m looking for recommendations and advice on how to get rid of my persistent gingivitis, and who I can go to for help. Here is my story, please read:

I’m 22 and have always had good dental hygiene until two years out of nowhere it seemed I developed gingivitis. I’ve tried so many options within these last two years:

- I brush twice a day with an Oral B toothbrush
- floss every night with coco floss
- tongue scrape
- and get pretty much consistent cleanings

The gingivitis wasn’t really something I noticed until I got a new pair of retainers that felt slightly off (was told that was normal) and led me to take a closer look look at my gums and noticed they looked a lil puffy, but I never really paid attention to them beforehand since I never had any issues. When I went to get a cleaning shortly after this, my hygienist was rough and I was bleeding so much. It was a total 180 compared to my normal cleanings that used to take 15 min and was told “looks great.” It was all so unexpected and left me feeling confused and worried.

Since then I’ve really worked on being 100% consistent in my hygiene routine.

I had another cleaning 4 months after that cleaning where I bled, then another cleaning and an exam 7-8 months after. No change after any of these.

After that latest cleaning and exam, I went back to see my hygienist two weeks later since she said to come back if inflammation persists. She gave me what she called a “mini deep clean.” She cleaned deeper under the gums than a usual cleaning would but not deep enough to need a real scaling or numbing. For reference my dental exam measured my pockets at 2-4 mainly consisting of 3s and 4s.

I was sure after this “mini deep cleaning” the gingivitis would leave, but no. If anything it looks worse and my gums look like they’re receding by the day. It’s been 1.5 months after my last dental cleaning and gums aren’t any better. To be fair, I incorporated a water flosser a few days after the mini deep clean because my hygienist advised to add it to my routine and I’m thinking it may have just caused more irritation because it’s been a few days since I stopped the water flosser and they’re ever so slightly less inflamed.

All this to say, I have no idea what is causing my gingivitis or how to get rid of it at this point. I don’t bleed when I floss at home but I bleed a lot during cleanings and the inflammation is so persistent!! My gums look like they have recessed even more since my last exam :/

I’m so young I’m getting extremely worried - it’s been two years and I see no improvement and no one is willing to listen to me. After ever cleaning I’m told the inflammation will go away in a few days/weeks but it never does.

Does anyone have any recommendations on who I can go to that will hear me out, listen to my story, and really examine what’s going on with my gums? I live in the Los Angeles area.

Someone please help I’m desperate and getting so worried. Preferably a place that also won’t charge me an arm and a leg🤞😢

hi, I’ve never really been one to consistently post on Reddit, but I was really proud of myself so I figured I would talk about this here. I went through lots of dental neglect as a child to the point that a lot of the time I was not given water even in my adulthood (before anyone says anything, I have a disability)

today, I finally took the plunge after they were able to move my appointment from November to today! Surprisingly, they said that probably only had a couple of cavities and everything likely is OK, which really shocked me.All I had to do was a debridement and then I’m scheduled to go back and check out the rest and make sure that we don’t see any cavities, then I’m all good to go back to a six month cleaning schedule!

Sometimes my mom would not brush my teeth for months at a time so I am surprised, I even have teeth Still.

I am so much more Confident about my mouth now And grateful that nothing major is wrong with me.

For anyone curious, I am away from that situation. I now live with my partner and brush twice a day and floss. Every day