Despite practicing good oral hygiene and having "good gums," I've had 2 gum infections in the past 6 months which according to the dentist are caused by elevated BS. The first one cleared up with antibiotics and a little calculus removal but this one has lingered for one month with no end in sight. I'm scared of losing a a bottom front tooth as that will definitely mar my good looks :) It is abscessed and I don't know what to do about it. My dentist says we can try to scale and plane the root near the abcess and irrigate with antiseptic to see if it will clear up. He allows a payment plan. The periodontist says to cut the gums and see what's going on. He doesn't accept payment plans and I don't have an extra thousand to spend on this.
Has anybody been through this? Please help. I need advice. BTW, I know I need tighter control on BS. This pain and fear are great incentives!
My son is 16 and has braces on. He takes lousy care of his teeth. Luckily his braces are coming off soon and that will help but I worry about this for him too. I didn’t pay all this for his teeth to be straight for him to just lose them. If you take good care and still have trouble…what is gonna happen to him with the lousy care he is taking. He takes great care of his diabetes though… loving the pod. Wish he would be as careful w/ his teeth. Hope your’s gets better soon.
I also read that one of the biggest things to skrew w/ a diabetics #s is an infection of any kind especially in the mouth. Kinda a catch 22 huh? Infection in mouth from high bgs and high bgs from an infection in the mouth.
I feel for you – advice to young people usually falls on deaf ears until they experience it first hand. I’m 56 so we can only hope your son cleans up his hygiene in time to avoid problems – at least he has good BS control. Yes, a catch 22 with the cycle of infection and elevated BS. I’m really trying now, almost following the Bernstein diet so I won’t lose my teeth.
This disease sucks and I’m especially pissed at the government which allowed Hepatitis C into the blood pool for 25 years without disclosing or taking preventative action. The Hep C caused my diabetes. BTW, for those contemplating surgery which requires transfusion be sure to donate your own blood beforehand as Hep C, HIV and God knows what else still circulates in the donor pool. The FDA and Red Cross know but you never will. I will now exit my soapbox
I had braces in the late 70’s which when combined with my diabetes ended up giving me problems for life.
Having a genetic problem in the family didnt help either.
I had the gums cut way back, back in 1977 and wish I had not had that kind of archaic surgery.
It left me in worse shape and now I have constant problems.
The perio surgery they do now is often skin grafting. I wish I could have had it, but it was too late for me to get it done.
They also have some new laser techniques they can do.
I would say go for the root planing, and get your teeth cleaned two or three times a year.
Do everything you can, to get things in shape now but know if you have to go more drastic, the options are way better than ever before.
Thanks for the advice. I had braces too, several times, the last time was just 8 years ago and I have a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth where coincidentally (or not) my gum infections are occuring. The retainer is causing bone loss and making thorough cleaning impossible. I think it must go. And my mother lost all her teeth at age 35 to periodontal disease.
I feel for you having to undergo invasive gum surgery with all the unintended side effects. Do you have super sensitive teeth and constant gum infections? I’m so sorry. I’m going to try myrhh ointment on my infected gums. The herb shop owner swears it will work. I’ll let you know. Thanks again for responding.
That’s what happend, the braces caused bone loss and the orthodontist didnt make my parents aware this could happen. So when I was 17, they had to take the braces off early and I have not been without problems ever since then.
My Mom lost her teeth at 19, so I also believe that played into it.
Well, last year after having every possible thing done, I had to give in and give up what bottom teeth I had left.
I have a bridge on the top, lots of fillings and two teeth which are on their last legs. I dont want to necessarily yank everything out up there, especially since there are about four decent teeth left. Guess what? Those are the teeth which did not have surgery back in the 70’s. The ones the doctor didnt do surgery on, are fine. The ones that were shaved back had alll the problems.
I wish you the best.
Yes, things still infect for absolutely no reason. The other day I got a tortilla chip stuck and that caused a small infection. It becomes a nasty cycle.
I have never had dental insurance either, so that doesnt help.
Just do what you can, and yeah even try the herbal stuff.
I picked up some at the vitamin store the other day with Neem. and Peelu in it?
And I’ve heard we should take CoQ10, so I started doing that as well.
Try everything!
Best wishes.
I just recently got a silver coated toothbrush with the hopes of avoiding some serious dental problems. The silver in the toothbrush is an antibacterial. I think that this might not help with your current situation as it may have gone too far but could be helpful in the future. I got the silver toothbrush from a company called Norwex. They sell other products - cleaning and personal care with silver in them. I bought a few things and they work well. The toothbrush was $20 and comes with a head replacement.
I have had ongoing periodontal problems. I have had the scaling and planing multiple times and I have had gum surgery. Make no mistake, it scks and it csts.
Here are my suggestions. Floss three times a day. Brush after eating, always. Get an oral irrigator and use it once a day to flush out the pockets. I use mouth wash in the irrigator (25-50% solution). Have your perio place a targetted antibiotic at any specific infection. Get a prescription for Peridex/Periogard mouthwash. Consider using hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash. I have seen my dentist/perio every three months for some years. My condition is “stable.” I still have serious problems, but nothing is getting worse.
BSC, thanks for your suggestions. I am willing to do anything to save my teeth. Question: is the targeted antibiotic some sort of pouch the perio inserts into the gum? How much did that cost? My perio wants to do a gum flap to “see what’s going on.” I don’t trust him as I think that’s too invasive at this point. I want to find a perio that isn’t so concerned about his bottom line. I would like to discuss this with you and will send a pm.
Have you read about Dr. Keyes methods? I brush with baking soda then swish my mouth with apple cider vinegar. The chemical reaction with the soda makes a huge bubbly explosion in the mouth which hopefully can reach the bacteria. After this I rinse with peroxide. Maybe that’s overkill, I don’t know.
Now I understand why some people go toothless. It’s either that or sell the home to save the teeth. IMHO dental care should not be so expensive, especially perio. I hope your condition stays stable.
I had a targetted antibiotic (a pouch I guess) placed in the gum pocket in one my problem areas. It was expensive if I recall, more and $100, perhaps even more. But compared to gum surgery, that is nothing. I am not familiar with Keyes, but I’ll look into it. I would be a little concerned that harsh treatments such as vinegar may also do injury. Gum flap surgery is not exploratory, that is like saying, lets do a little heart bypass and see what things look like. I can understand your concern.
