Gum surgery...trip report.

[Freakin]

I'm probably gonna need this in the near future... I brushed my teeth waaay too hard, and I've already got recession (at age 23).... I've started brushing much more gently (I was told to only use two fingers when you brush, so that you cannot apply any real force) but I am still not looking forward to it...

[LittleOldLady]

I had the just about the most extensive gum surgery possible--flap and osseous procedures on all four quadrants simultaneously. This procedure involves detaching the gums, scraping away infected bone, cutting away infected soft tissue, and putting everything back together. This was megapainful and took about a year to heal, leaving me with exposed roots on all my teeth--not pretty. This only postponed the inevitable, and a little over 20 years later I lost all the teeth in my upper jaw. I can tell you the whole thing was more painful and more traumatic and took longer to heal than a labor and emergency c-section and a heart attack and two heart surgeries. I recommend doing whatever you can to avoid advanced gum disease.

In my case, the problem was partly heredity and partly incompetent dentistry ("My gums are bleeding." "Don't worry. Everybody's gums bleed.")

Everyone's gums may bleed, but they are not supposed to.