Black holes and wobbly teeth

My dental problems started with bleeding gums and progressed to black holes and wobbly teeth. I have been very aware that my gums are receding for the last two years and have gotten used to spending 15 minutes or more, a night, on a cleaning regime. At first I just flossed and used an electric toothbrush but when holes appeared between my teeth I started using interdental brushes. It wasn't long before I needed the thick blue ones and had to use them regularly to dislodge the days debris.

My cleaning regime was taking longer and longer, and becoming more and more expensive as I tried every new product on the market, but my gums continued to bleed and recede at an alarming rate. My roots had started to appear and my once bright white teeth were tinged with yellow at the top. They became more sensitive to hot and cold and I started to worry about what I ate.

As if this wasn't bad enough I had begun to sound neurotic. Every trip to the dentist found me spilling my heartfelt guts about how upset I was about what was happening to my teeth and saying that I was afraid I was going to lose them. I sounded mad and my dentist appeared helpless. I spent £120 on four visits to the hygienist where, under anesthetic, a quarter of my mouth was cleaned under the gums. A year later and my gums had receded so much that the hygienist was concerned there could be an underlying medical problem. X-rays showed massive bone loss in my jaw and the holes between my teeth were just getting larger all the time. My G.P tested me for Diabetes and Cholesterol but both results came back fine. I went to the hygienist again and she confirmed that my gums were receding very fast but said that my oral hygiene was excellent and that she was at a loss as to how to stop it.

Hold onto your teeth

holdontoyourteeth.blogspot.com is about how I have saved my teeth by using the new Gumsaver toothbrush. In only a matter of weeks I have dramatically reduced the swelling in my gums and firmed up the gums around two frighteningly wobbly teeth.

To thank my dentist, Dr Hani Mostafa, for giving me a prototype of his new (soon to be on the market) Gumsaver toothbrush (and saving me from the shame and embarrassment of tooth loss) I have offered to write a blog charting the highs and lows of my experiences using the Gumsaver brush. This blog will include postings of the diary I have been writing and will start with my decline into black holes and wobbly teeth.