For anyone that has Braces

[ilovedisney1]

I have had braces for almost 2 years. And my bottom gums are a little swollen. It seems like they have been for awhile. The ortho thinks its gingivitis but I have been flossing and brushing better since my last appointment. Could it be that the brackets are too close to my bottom teeth?

 

[Mrs. Chamberlain]

That would make sense. I had the same problem.

 

[pigletgirl]

No, I think your ortho is right. I had braces for 5 years, and I brushed diligently 3x/day because I didn't want the after affects of bad brushing.

Do they bleed at all? Are they painful?

 

[rock.my.socks]

I've had braces for around the same amount of time as you. After about a year I noticed that my gums were swelling up too. It made it look like I had almost no tooth underneath my brackets. I went to the dentist and he asked if I had been flossing. I had, but not the right way. He told me that with braces you HAVE to make sure you bring your piece of floss under your gums when you floss. Like go down all the way until you cant go farther with it. When I first started this my gums bled alot, but after a while the looked alot better and you could see my lower teeth again. ( and now I get my braces removed in a week ) Maybe this is also what is happening with your teeth? Good Luck.

 

[Babyjustrun]

Call me gross, but I never flossed my teeth with braces. It was time consuming, it made my gums bleed and I never did it before. I still have very good dental hygiene, my dentists never say anything bad.
I have the opposite problem. I brush too hard near the bottom gum, so it's receding.

 

[ilovedisney1]

No, I think your ortho is right. I had braces for 5 years, and I brushed diligently 3x/day because I didn't want the after affects of bad brushing.

Do they bleed at all? Are they painful?

I brush at least 4 times a day. No they don't bleed. Also they are not painful.
And I floss once a day.

 

[~Serenity~]

I brush at least 4 times a day. No they don't bleed. Also they are not painful.
And I floss once a day.

Well if they aren't bleeding and super painful I doubt it's what he thinks.
Did you tell him all this? Try and explain and maybe you'll figure it out.

 

[ilovedisney1]

OK I will at my upcoming appoinment.

 

[ilovedisney1]

bump!

 

[Axel]

I'm in the same boat-- except I don't have braces.

My hygenist thinks I've got gingivitis, but I floss (correctly) two or three times a day as well as brushing my teeth in the morning, after dinner, and right before bed. I have excellent dental hygeine (the the cavities I did need filled didn't require novicane and are all from when I was 7 and just didn't know about keeping my mouth clean), but for the life of her, my hygenist doesn't know what's wrong.

 

[Princess Sarah 92]

i have had braces for 2 and a half years [ugh] but ive never had that problem
maybe it could be your braces?
i know my lips puffed out from my braces

 

[SandrA9810]

you've all just instilled in me one more reason to not get braces.... My family could never afford it when I was younger and should've had it done. Now that I have insurance to help cover the costs, I've outgrown my desire to have perfect teeth.