I decided to visit a dentist in Denver about a week after I noticed severe bleeding around my gums. I first noticed it when I got up in the morning and had the taste of blood in my mouth. That wasn’t normal, nor was me spitting bloody saliva into the sink after brushing my teeth. I closely examined my teeth and gums in the mirror and saw what I thought were some puffy pockets around most of my bottom teeth. Worried, I got online and looked for a dentist in order to find out what was going on. I hoped it wasn’t serious.
Upon arriving for my appointment, I signed in at the desk and waited my turn. They took me back and the hygienist took a look and made a strange face. She asked if I was a smoker or had some underlying disease such as diabetes and I replied no on the former and I wasn’t sure on the latter as I hadn’t had any other problems related to that disease. The dentist came in and took a look and said he thought plaque had invaded deep into my gums and that was likely causing the swelling and bleeding.
He did some poking and prodding, which I must say wasn’t fun, and got some stuff out. He recommended I come back for what he called a deep scaling cleaning. Expensive, but necessary he said because the alternative would be not getting the plaque out and over time I would start losing teeth. When I came back for this type of cleaning they actually put me under to perform the procedure. I had some tenderness for a few days, but then total success as the pockets rapidly dissipated and the bleeding vanished. Now I watch my gums like a hawk.