Little story:

The Gum Truth:

A recent marketing campaign for mouthwash featured a young woman waking from a nightmare, in which her teeth had fallen out, only to spit blood when brushing her teeth. Peering into the bathroom mirror, she then pulled up her top lip to reveal a gap in her front teeth. Although some viewers were disturbed by this representation of tooth loss, it was as sanitised as the blue liquid used in advertisements for sanitary pads, as the gums around her missing tooth are more likely to have been puffy with disease also, or shrunk back to reveal snaggle teeth.

I can understand why advertisers might avert our eyes from these queasy truths but when medical professionals do the same, it begs questions. I now realise that I probably had gum disease from my early teens. Yet, despite having regular dental treatment, it was not until decades later that a dentist casually mentioned that he supposed I knew that I had periodontitis. I didn't. 

Now, I can smell gum disease like a sniffer dog. As a result, I have realised that my father had it and I have sometimes had to restrain myself from advising strangers to seek treatment. It is also clear to me that Dracula, with his severe halitosis and lengthening teeth, or, more accurately, shrinking gums, was a fellow sufferer, intent on spreading the disease. Then, I was oblivious of my own disease. When I realised that I had it, I assumed that dental hygienists were keeping it in check. They weren't.

The orthodontic treatment that I'd embarked on when my teeth began to shift had only made things much, much worse.  I had not realised that, as with a building, movement on the surface indicates subsidence below.  If this had occurred to my dentist and orthodontist, they chose not to share their thoughts.  If it hadn't occurred to them, I can't think why.

So, now, when I look in the mirror and attempt a smile, I am confronted with the grim comedy of those expensively straightened teeth and their gnarled roots, exposed by shrunken gums and the crumbling bone beneath.  It is a sorry sight but a lot less sorry than when I was having periodontist treatment, which, like the orthodontics, turned out to be a brutal and bloody business. More often than not, afterwards, I developed an infection that required antibiotics.  Despite all of this, the prognosis was grim and I was generally treated like I had only myself to blame, although I have always brushed my teeth two times a day, I do not smoke and I hate sweet drinks. When it became clear that the next step was going to involve cutting into my gums, I decided to try an alternative.  

I then opted for an holistic approach at the BOST clinic, which was a whole lot less traumatic. After an initial consultation and a session in which my root surfaces were cleaned, maintenance sessions have involved no anaesthetic and minimal discomfort. Between appointments, I use a toothbrush and interdental brushes, as I did before, along with the Peritip.

My teeth and gums no longer feel like they are at war with one another.  The teeth, which had become distorted casualties of that war, have been reformed and the wire retainers, which my orthodontist had left as a memento of our time together, have been replaced by splints, so that my tongue is no longer constantly sore and I can speak without a lisp. The pockets between my teeth and gums are pretty much completely gone, my gums have not been cut open and, so far, I have kept all of my teeth.

Apart from attention to diet, lifestyle, analysis of the bacteria in my mouth and a much more sympathetic approach, the difference between the forms of treatment has been in the daily use of the Peritip. This has been more effective than any mouthwash, toothbrush or water flosser that I have tried and the principle of its use is simple and rational. The tips look like toothpicks but are designed to be used with an ‘applicator’ the Peritip and gently placed between the gum line and the teeth, so as to disrupt the biofilm and let air in. This disrupts and kills bacteria, which are mostly anaerobic, to stop them from creating infection which in turn is related to destroying the bone under the gums and loosening the teeth.

At first, it seemed odd to ‘poke’ about under my gums, which I had been treating like the enemy within, but it soon made them feel much better, so it has never been an onerous task. The Peritip now complement my toothbrush and interdental brushes and remind me that, to adapt the lyrics of 'Dry Bones', 'your tooth root's connected to your GUM line, your gum line's connected to your JAW bone, your jaw bone's connected to your SKULL bone'.  And they have helped me to keep them connected.