Gingivitus!

[dreamrawalwz]

Hmm, yea, depression and stuff doesn't help with hygine i'm embarassed to say that. I'm sure some of you will understand though. Umm, my mom said I have the beginning stage of gingivitus and said to do a hydrogen peroxide rinse, but I"m scared. Do you know the ratio to that with water that'll help, or will it help at all? I'm brushing 3x a day now with a softer touch, but I'm afraid it'll progress. I'm using Tom's tooth paste, but I'm wondering if just plain baking soda will hlep?

Help!?

[juliebove]

I've never had gingivitis, but I have used the peroxide a few times. In my case it was for canker sores when I couldn't find any other product that would help. I just used it straight and then rinsed with water very well afterwards. I've also used baking soda on my teeth. I don't know if it will help, but it won't hurt.

Here's some information about it:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gingivitis/DS00363

According to that link, brushing and flossing well are all you need to do. That and see the dentist.

[dreamrawalwz]

Hmm, I'm nervous about the dentist thing. I THINK I have an appointment. I havn't gone in a LONG time though since it scares me so much. Not sure why lol...I've regressed. What could the dentist do? I don't want any medications or anything so I kinda don't see the point. My grandma had gingivitus and they had to do surger at the base of her gums! OUCH. I'm just scared since my gums are receeding quickly. Should I brush my teeth every time I eat fruit? That and I've had more cavities since I've started my raw journey 3 years ago. Before that I never had ANY cavities my whole life.

[juliebove]

Hmm, I'm nervous about the dentist thing. I THINK I have an appointment. I havn't gone in a LONG time though since it scares me so much. Not sure why lol...I've regressed. What could the dentist do? I don't want any medications or anything so I kinda don't see the point. My grandma had gingivitus and they had to do surger at the base of her gums! OUCH. I'm just scared since my gums are receeding quickly. Should I brush my teeth every time I eat fruit? That and I've had more cavities since I've started my raw journey 3 years ago. Before that I never had ANY cavities my whole life.

The dentist will clean all the plaque off your teeth. These days many of them have a high powered device that blasts the plaque off. It's messy and it tickles but it doesn't hurt. My dad has had gum surgery. So has my friend. Both said it wasn't pleasant. But if your gums are receding quickly then you really need to get to the dentist. All the brushing in the world won't get that plaque off. Only the dentist can get that off and then once it's off it's up to you to make sure it stays off.

My husband went through this phase where he thought brusing his teeth was not necessary. Not only did he not do it, but he went around bragging about not doing it. He now has to see a gum specialist on a regular basis and use some icky tasting mouth wash.

I don't particularly care for going to the dentist, but it's better than some other things I can think of. I have many fillings, have had two root canals, not sure how many crowns. Also braces. Of all those procedures, the first root canal (things have changed for the better since then) and the braces were by far the worst. I did have the braces as an adult though. I've been told that it is easier when you are younger because the teeth move around easier and with less force.

[blessed]

:) What i and my husband do is we put about a 4th of a cup in a glass and stick our toothbrush in and brush our teeth and gums and then we rinse.
This has helped a great deal and has whitened our teeth too.
Using it straight is not bad tasting and we don't have the pain we had before.
Hope this helps you, and you can also put it in a glass with about 2 tbsp. of filtered water and hold it in your mouth and swish it around several times a day also.
Doing all this has saved us much suffering, i wish we had done this sooner. :)

Ann

[RawFoodieMom]

:) What i and my husband do is we put about a 4th of a cup in a glass and stick our toothbrush in and brush our teeth and gums and then we rinse.
This has helped a great deal and has whitened our teeth too.
Using it straight is not bad tasting and we don't have the pain we had before.
Hope this helps you, and you can also put it in a glass with about 2 tbsp. of filtered water and hold it in your mouth and swish it around several times a day also.
Doing all this has saved us much suffering, i wish we had done this sooner. :)

Ann

Great info, Ann. Has this prevented cavities for you? Also what strength of hydrogen peroxide is it we're speaking about? I really want to get away from toothpaste, they all seem to have that silica stuff that coats our teeth and hinders re-enamelization, or so I'm finding out.

[Pierre]

What I do is put a capful (3 ml I guess) of 3% peroxide in my mouth and hold it there. Sometimes it makes a froth, which can hurt, between the gums and the teeth. Then I spit it out.

Another thing you can try is Spilanthes acmella, which has some synonym which I forget. You can get it from rawfood.com. Chew it lightly and stick between the affected gum and the cheek or lip.

Also take a clove of garlic, chew it once, and put next to the gum. If it's a large clove, bite off a piece.

[spicyfull]

Well I brush with Baking Soda, rinse and floss with hydrogen peroxide, straight from the bottle. At one time I had bleeding but not any more. And I use a mouth wash I get from QVC that keep your breath sweet, using it twice a day. That is called Tri-Oral.

We can get some pretty sticky stuff on our teeth. Sometimes it can be worse than Gummy Bears(*-*). It is important to take care of your teeth. Dentist aren't that bad. Also listen to your Mother, she knows best and has your best interest at heart.

Remember the Tooth Fairy does not pass out new teeth, he only takes the ones that fell out.

I have not read your BIO but you are to be commended. I presume you are a teenager? You could be on MY SPACE. but you are here working out your life and your health. I personally commend you for that.

Make sure you let us know what the Dentist said...............

[Gosia]

I used to suffer from what you do. Rinses do not help really (and some of them may discolor the teeth). What helps is removing the junk from your teeth by a dentist. This may take more than one visit, if there is a lot of it and the pockets are deep. It did in my case. Without removing the junk, no progress may occur, because no matter how well you brush, floss or rinse, the junk will still be there and rot (and cause infection). So a visit to a dentist is worthwile.

After that, the best you can do is to keep your teeth and gums clean, so that your gums can heal. Raw foods is great for that. :) All you need to do it gently brush twice a day and floss after the meals.

Before raw, when I brushed and flossed, there was always so much junk on my teeth. But after going raw, there is hardly anything at all. I touch my teeth with my toungue and they are always smooth. Cooked food has got plenty of stuff that sticks to the teeth and creates the plaugue. Raw does not!

This is why raw is great for your gums!

Gosia

[Jackie1995]

I've used only baking soda/peroxide/himalayan salt as a "toothpaste" for the past year. I also in the evenings rinse my mouth with a mix of peroxide and water (3 peroxide to 1 water) to get the bacteria dead. I will sometimes also brush again, just to be sure the peroxide is getting where I want it to.

This is on top of quarterly visits to the dentist to keep my teeth free of plaque. Since I started this regimen, the plaque on my teeth has decreased to about 1/4 of what it once was (per my hygenist's comments). It's almost negligible at this point.

The latest thing I've started using to keep my gums healthy is a waterpik. This is TOTALLY GREAT and TOTALLY ADDICTIVE! My teeth are free of food particles, my gums are "exercised", and now I can't stand having food particles in my mouth for very long after eating - I run to the waterpik pretty quickly! Thanks to Arky for this suggestion, which was spot on.

Eating raw will do wonderful things for you, but you must take care of your teeth or you won't be eating apples very long! With proper maintenance, your teeth will last you for your lifetime. If your gums get infected and weak with gingivitis, you will lose your teeth. You're WAY too young for that!

Good luck, my best thoughts go with you!

[myssi]

I use a mixture of baking soda and sea salt to brush, then do a quick brush with peroxide. I use one of the Oral B power brushes (our dentist actually gave them to us) and it makes my teeth feel SO much cleaner than brushing with a regular brush as well.

This regimen has helped enormously. My dentist has commented that they are much cleaner at my visits. My teeth were never that bad to begin with, but I did tend to get cavities here and there because the grooves in my back teeth are very deep. Since using this, I haven't had one. Also, my gums NEVER bleed now. Also, the test they do with the little stick thing that measures the depth of your gums (I think it's to look for gum disease) has actually reversed itself--my gums have gotten a lot healthier. Oh yeah, and I also use floss that is coated with Tea Tree Oil.

My husband's teeth are another story. He had only been to the dentist once in his life when I met him (at the age of 21). He had tons of buildup and cavities, but thank goodness nothing rotting or anything. Since he's used this regimen, same thing--no more caviteis and much less buildup. He doens't do it all the time because he really hates the taste of salt. . . but he knows it helps tremendously and our dentist has commented about it too.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Oh yeah, and one of the best things you can do is find a dentist that you and your family are super comfortable with so it's not such a pain to go!

:)
Melissa

[Joyful Mary]

You can get a great product called Thieves that is said to help with this tremendously. I use it on my gums to strenghten them when they are weak. If you're interested, contact me via email and I will give you the suppliers name and phone number.

Mary

[mcasburn]

My gums started receding as a child, which was really scary. They've gotten progressively worse over the years. Now, however, they are bleeding less and getting tighter, since doing two things:

1. Switching to high raw
2. Switching to Weleda all-natural toothpaste
http://www.usa.weleda.com/products/oral_care.asp

Your gums are very porous, and it's very important to use a pure toothpaste or tooth-cleansing agent.