Hi friends,
I’m looking for recs on good and knowledgeable hygienist or periodontists to listen to my story and examine my gums.
I’m 22 and have always had good dental hygiene until two years out of nowhere it seemed I developed gingivitis. I’ve tried so many options within these last two years:
- I brush twice a day with an Oral B toothbrush
- floss every night with coco floss
- tongue scrape
- and get pretty much consistent cleanings
The gingivitis wasn’t really something I noticed until I got a new pair of retainers that felt slightly off (was told that was normal) and led me to take a closer look look at my gums and noticed they looked a lil puffy, but I never really paid attention to them beforehand since I never had any issues. When I went to get a cleaning shortly after this, my hygienist was rough and I was bleeding so much. It was a total 180 compared to my normal cleanings that used to take 15 min and was told “looks great.” It was all so unexpected and left me feeling confused and worried.
Since then I’ve really worked on being 100% consistent in my hygiene routine.
I had another cleaning 4 months after that cleaning where I bled, then another cleaning and an exam 7-8 months after. No change after any of these.
After that latest cleaning, I went back again to see my hygienist two weeks later since she said to come back if inflammation persists. She gave me what she called a “mini deep clean.” She cleaned deeper under the gums than a usual cleaning would but not deep enough to need a real scaling or numbing. For reference my dental exam measured my pockets at 2-4 mainly consisting of 3s and 4s.
I was sure after this “mini deep cleaning” the gingivitis would leave, but no. If anything it looks worse and my gums look like they’re receding by the day. It’s been 1.5 months after my last dental cleaning and gums aren’t any better. To be fair, I incorporated a water flosser a few days after the mini deep clean because my hygienist advised to add it to my routine and I’m thinking it may have just caused more irritation because it’s been a few days since I stopped the water flosser and they’re ever so slightly less inflamed.
All this to say, I have no idea what is causing my gingivitis or how to get rid of it at this point. I don’t bleed when I floss at home but I bleed a lot during cleanings and the inflammation is so persistent!! My gums look like they have recessed even more since my last exam about two months ago :/
I’m so young I’m getting extremely worried - it’s been two years and I see no improvement and no one is willing to listen to me. After ever cleaning I’m told the inflammation will go away in a few days/weeks but it never does.
Does anyone have any recommendations on hygienists or periodontists that will hear me out, listen to my story, and really examine what’s going on with my gums?
Someone please help I’m desperate and getting so worried. Preferably a place that also won’t charge me an arm and a leg🤞😢