Bleeding gums? Here's the best remedy!
Bleeding gums? Here's the best remedy!
When your regular doctor fails you, it's time for a second opinion
Photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels
In 2018, I was suffering for two years from bleeding gums, and the rot had spread to one side of my jaw. My regular dentist of over six years insisted that it could be because of heredity or some gastric issue. But that shouldn't be because my parents don't have that problem and I didn’t have a problem with my stomach.
The issue reached a flash point when the dentist (with just a bachelor's degree in dentistry) suggested that a healthy tooth that was partially broken had to undergo root canal and prevent the painful gum problem I was experiencing on one side of the mouth. But despite the surgery and the crown fixing, the problem remained. The measurement of the tooth wasn’t accurate, and the gum pain hadn’t subsided either.
After a few days and much thought, I remembered a dentist friend of mine who had moved out of my neighbourhood a few years ago. He suggested that I consult a gum specialist (periodontist) for my problem. The moment I met her a week later with my mouth x-ray, she found bone loss all around my mouth. She did a deep cleaning, even under the gums by applying a local anaesthetic gel. It took about half an hour, but ever since, I have had no bleeding. It has been three years since.
The moral of the story? When your current doctor doesn't fix your problem or tries to blame something other than his own discipline of medicine, it's time to wake up and go for a second opinion. And again, it's important to go to a specialist who is much better at solving these issues. It took me two years and several ounces of blood and the accompanying pain to realise this crucial fact. If you are having similar health issues and you realise that your family doctor has no specialisation, it's time you went to one who does. That is the only way you could put an end to a chronic health issue. Even if it means stepping out of your neighbourhood, and going to the remotest corner of your city to get yourself examined. The long distance commute will be worth it.
There's more. Not only did this specialist diagnose my prevailing issue, she was also able to prevent future pain. One look at the x-ray, and she asked me to get both my top and bottom wisdom tooth removed because they were touching my neighbouring molar. She also found that one root canal done more than 15 years ago was partially done. So she directed me to a specialist in the same clinic who was good at this.
Once all of these were done, she found that my gums had healed very well and there was no need for any flap surgery or bone grafting. Instead, she just did a laser surgery with just an anaesthetic gel for four of my bottom teeth, just to be on the safer side. And finally, the moment of reckoning. The troublesome tooth that had refused the crown earlier accepted it without fuss and there was no pain in the gums thereafter. It was a happy ending to a bloody story.