I'm back from the dentist. Good news -- nothing unfixable about my gums.

Bad news-- they are in bad shape. I need to floss regularly, brush after meals for two minutes and use the antibiotic mouth wash otherwise I will have serious problems including losing teeth. And I have to get my teeth cleaned 3 times a year insted of 2.

askye, when I was pregnant, I had awful gum problems. Went to the periodontist and am now a daily flosser. I never want to go to a periodontist ever again. I also got a Sonicare toothbrush, which I now swear by.

I'm glad it's all fixable for you.

My husband had to get some perodontal scraping thing done, it sounded very unpleasant. He's pretty darn careful with his teeth now, let me tell you. For some reason, this means we have to pay a higher percentage of his office visit fees because of it - he's getting periodontal maintenance rather than regular maintenance (even though they do the same thing), and that's less covered or something.

Anyway, follow those instructions, askye. Fix 'em while they're fixable.

My husband had to get some perodontal scraping thing done, it sounded very unpleasant.

This is what I had done. Nope. Not pleasant. At. All.

I have never had the deep scraping thing done, because I'm already pretty good with the floss and my little rubber tipped pick, thing. However, I have had the experience of having the surgeon patch the thin part of my gums with skin from the roof of my mouth. Ow.

I have had the experience of having the surgeon patch the thin part of my gums with skin from the roof of my mouth. Ow

It's painful? My MiL was thinking of getting that done for cosmetic reasons - her dentist doesn't think she needs to do it.

However, I have had the experience of having the surgeon patch the thin part of my gums with skin from the roof of my mouth. Ow.

Ha! I had this done, too! Where you lip attaches to the gums right in the front--that part was literally wearing away my gums so I had to have the connecting tissue cut and a graft on the gums after I got my braces off. If I hadn't had it done, my front teeth would have become unstable.

Is it any wonder why I hate dentists so much???

I don't have a Sonicare brush, but I have one of the the battery operated toothbushes you can get at the grocery store. I *had* a Braun but somehow I managed to break it. I bought one of those Hummingbird pic things, a while back but I can't use it until my gums get better.

I'm trying to ween myself off sodas, I know they have to be rough on my gums and teeth.

-t I just figured out where your tagline comes from!

It's painful?

The dentist told me it would be like having a very bad burn on the roof of my mouth (the part where they attached the gum really didn't hurt me at all), and that was a pretty good description. A very sore spot in an inconvienent place. Kept me off solid food for a few days in the beginning and then again when the plaster fell off.