Gum infections: Been to dentist 3 times

sstudent

Hi there, I've had a gum infection since May. It didn't subside with the first set of antibiotics and treatment but it disappeared to a degree with a more fierce type of antibiotics 2 weeks later. Now it's been about 3 weeks since it fully left and it now back but even worse. I kept using corsodyl etc and when I went to go back to the dentist on Friday the office was closed.

What should I do between now and Monday? Any advice? Will salt water rinses and corsodyl be enough for the time being?

dlofnep

I'd be weary of taking so many antibiotics. Are you flossing every day, and using mouthwash, and brushing properly?

sstudent

Yeah I've been using 2 types of floss because one of the teeth had a root canal and ever since then food gets caught in between the tooth and sometimes in the gum. The dentist couldn't really do anything about that but I don't think there was anything he could do. It was in that area where the original infection began. But he said it was nothing to do with that since i brush after every meal. I use corsodyl or listerine (The regular one) daily and am very thorough with brushing.

I'm going to get a blood test as soon as I'm in a position to.

johndoe99

i used to suffer from recurrent mouth ulcers several years back, went to dentist loads times, I then went to doctor and after a talk with her she took blood and discovered I was lacking certain minerals, my diet was all wrong and within a week of altering it the ulcers faded and am happy to say i've not had any in over 2 years.

sstudent

Hi John ,thank you for the message, glad to hear you got fixed up, there's nothing worse than dental pain! Yeah I was sure because I was under an immense amount of pressure with my university exams in May (finished with a 2:1 degree woo!) and then going from a high stress sitation to another (looking for a job! Found one of those and start in a week!) that this could have taken its toll just as much as what I was eating... I began taking a multivitamin with extra iron when I was off the other antibiotics just to fix my body up.. So I don't know if they've just not kicked in or if there's some sort of food I should be eating or whatever.. I am really a loss right now. I had a blood test 6months ago where everything came back clear. So i'll take another blood test again and see what it might be. The dentist thinks I'm lacking in something anyway.I'm afraid when I see him again on monday that I'll have to tell him I've not yet gone for the blood test he told me to go for!

Oral Surgeon

sorry to hear op, could you clarify what you mean by gum infection as you also mention root canal etc?
If the gun infection is localized to the root canal treated then it is most likely a failed root canal or fractured tooth/root....
If it is affecting all or most teeth then it is gingivitis or periodontitis.

You mention exams,
a particular type of gum infection is common in twenty-somethings, smokers and in stressful times such as exams called ANUG (acute necrotising ulcerative gingivitis). It usually affects the front tooth gums, is very painful, gums bleed readily, the margins of the gums have a grey sought, the papilla between the teeth can be lost and there is a fowl smell and taste big-time.
Treatment initially is with antibiotics but ultimately like all gum disease is with regular scale and polish, deep scale and polish (if there are deep pockets beside the teeth and most importantly very good home brushing and flossing...

By all means get a full blood count with your GP and discuss other reasons for reduced immunity (steroid use, poor diet, pregnancy...!!) But common things are common and some plaque build up is your problem until proven otherwise.

Good luck,
OS

sstudent

Hi OS, thanks for the response. What the dentist told me in May/June was that I had a "generalised gum infection" that began on the left gum which was inflamed around the tooth where I had a root canal previously. The skin around the entire gums on the front side peeled all around my mouth as the infection spread (there's nothing in the back where my tongue and roof of mouth are). The whole front area of my gums was blood-red at this stage. After the second course of antibiotics the mouth calmed down, redness subsided and the pink gum colour resumed. I continued with corsodyl and listerine.

The root canal I had last year in upper 1st molar, following an abcess and another infection up above the tooth and gum (according to x-ray and dentist). Ever since I had the root canal food continues to get stuck between that tooth and the gum.

This infection began up front, I noticed the incisor tooth had bled a lot with flossing. A small inflamed area subsequently formed and from that the gum began to get worse. The problem is worse on the left, although the upper part of the other side is now infected in a similar way with deep-red pocket between two teeth.

I'm going to continue with salt-water rinse every hour and corsodyl gel and rinse. It's very inflamed and sore.

Thanks again for the message.

Oral Surgeon

sstudent wrote: »

Hi OS, thanks for the response. What the dentist told me in May/June was that I had a "generalised gum infection" that began on the left gum which was inflamed around the tooth where I had a root canal previously. The skin around the entire gums on the front side peeled all around my mouth as the infection spread (there's nothing in the back where my tongue and roof of mouth are). The whole front area of my gums was blood-red at this stage. After the second course of antibiotics the mouth calmed down, redness subsided and the pink gum colour resumed. I continued with corsodyl and listerine.

The root canal I had last year in upper 1st molar, following an abcess and another infection up above the tooth and gum (according to x-ray and dentist). Ever since I had the root canal food continues to get stuck between that tooth and the gum.

This infection began up front, I noticed the incisor tooth had bled a lot with flossing. A small inflamed area subsequently formed and from that the gum began to get worse. The problem is worse on the left, although the upper part of the other side is now infected in a similar way with deep-red pocket between two teeth.

I'm going to continue with salt-water rinse every hour and corsodyl gel and rinse. It's very inflamed and sore.

Thanks again for the message.

Hi there,
I must speak in general as per boards rules.....;

If you are having trouble with a previously root treated tooth it may be;
-persistence of infection from the root canal (root canal treatment is has a 10% failure approx). this manifests as a gumboil and pus high up in the gum or sometimes pus from the edge of the gum where it meets the tooth (perio-endo lesion)
-it may be a fractured tooth
-it may be a poorly fitting crown
-it could just be localized gum disease unrelated to the root canal
-it could just be part of a generalized gum disease problem

Gum disease does not really spread from one tooth across the mouth to all others....

You mention that it affects the lip side of the gum and not the palate side;
this is a feature of ANUG but also desquamative gingivitis. ANUG is an infection, DG can be a feature of some auto-immune conditions. They can be differentiated as follows;
ANUG leads to red sore bleeding gums immediately adjacent to the tooth/gum interface
DG leads to a band of redness on the hard part of the gum but spares a margin of gum adjacent to the teeth, the gum adjacent to the teeth is usually not inflammed or bleeding

This is ANUG


This is DG


You say that it settled after the antibiotics and you continue to rinse etc... Have you had a good scale and polish with your dentist since then? If the same crud is under the gums- the problem will persist and antibiotics will only halt it for a while....


As I say, common things are common....
You need to see your dentist again, if it can't be controlled- you need to see a periodontist, if it looks like DG etc- you need to see an oral medicine specialist....

sstudent

Hi again OS, thank you for the very helpful message. The dentist did not mention anything about scaling or polishing, he said that there didn't appear to be any more action needed other than keeping up what I was doing. He said that problem did not seem to be related to oral hygeine but rather to the fact that I seemed to be "burning the midnight oil", and that this type of thing is to be expected but to get a blood test all the same. That'll be my next step after Monday anyway.

I wouldn't say it is as bad as the example of DG in the image, although the skin peeling feature really is something that stands out. I'm going to keep up the warm salt water and rinses until Monday. Hopefully I'll get more answers then.

I've taken onboard the information regarding the root canal too.

Thank you once again.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Just a quick point here antibiotics cure nothing....nothing in dentistry is cured by antibiotics. Antibiotics will mask problems for a while but they come back stronger. You always need intervention. Filling, root canal, cleaning, extractions to remove the cause of the infection.

Oral Surgeon

sstudent wrote: »

I'm going to keep up the warm salt water and rinses until Monday. Hopefully I'll get more answers then.

And book yourself into the hygienist for a good cleaning,

All the best,
OS