So, my gumline has rapidly and mysteriously receded over the left side of my mouth over the course of the last month. It hurts to brush those teeth, and I'm constantly worried they're going to all fall out any second now. My appointment with the dentist is tomorrow morning, but the stress is bothering me now.

In reply to HornetCorset (msg # 85):

That is a scary thing dude. I hope things work out for you with minimal difficulties.

In reply to HornetCorset (msg # 85):
Get well soon, HornetCorset

I'd recommend eating more oranges (getting more vitamin C) to make sure you're not developing scurvy then starting a good at least twice daily flossing regimen in addition to brushing regularly.  For about the first week, you may continue to bleed slightly as you brush and when you floss, but as your body processes the vitamin C and you get rid of whatever miniscule almost invisible food particles are trapped between your teeth, your gums will heal.  It's a very long process (years) to regrow a receded gum line and without constant daily work it may never happen.

In reply to Genghis the Hutt (msg # 88):

Lol - I think scurvy is a big leap, in the modern world where nearly everything is fortified and people regularly get fresh meat.

More common modern causes are periodontal disease, aggressive brushing with a hard brush, lack of flossing, smoking/chewing, hormonal changes, &c.

I used to have the occasional problem with it due to thyroid disease, but daily flossing has prevented it 100% for years now.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:22, Wed 06 Aug 2014.

I'm usually not too squeamish when it comes to bugs, but there are two I loathe - flies and cockroaches. Especially cockroaches, they can survive just about anything you throw at them and are EXTREMELY common and difficult to combat in a tropical climate. Even after taking the usual precautions.

I've had it a few times years ago when I was eating one of those "super poor college student with absolutely no money" diets and surviving on ramen, cup o' noodles, macaroni & cheese, etc.  It only takes a couple months (give or take a half a month) for your gums to start bleeding when you brush your teeth.

In reply to Genghis the Hutt (msg # 91):

I'm curious: were you diagnosed with scurvy by a doctor, or did your gums just start bleeding?

I ask because, afaik, modern day scurvy is usually only found in people who also get most of their calories from alcohol, or from infants being improperly fed.

I had an interest in scurvy (as one does!) and read up on it some time back.  What I remember is that it's not just bleeding gums: old scars swell, unknit, and re-open; the victim becomes extremely fatigued and their thinking becomes lethargic and sullen; their legs get covered in spots; their joints swell and become painful; and their gums initially don't recede -- first they swell, then their teeth loosen and possibly start to fall out, then the gums start to recede.

All in all, some really worrying symptoms!
This message was last edited by the user at 20:25, Wed 06 Aug 2014.

I hadn't progressed to scurvy-scurvy yet, just started to show symptoms.  It only takes a couple months (and sometimes less than that, depending on what else you're eating and what you're doing) before you'll start showing symptoms, presuming your diet contains basically no vitamin C at all.  An orange every month or two will be enough to keep your gums from bleeding, although it would be more helpful to eat more than that.

Ah the good days of Ramen and doritoes.

Flossing...I should do it more honestly. Bad track record for me with flossing. It seemed to cause more cavities. I am still confused about it.

See a doctor about those gums and teeth. They be valuable things to keep. That being said I often forget to brush mine even with a tooth falling apart...

Well, I do live at college most of the year and pretty much survive off burritos and milk (better than a lot of folks at college, but not exactly a balanced diet). Pretty much everyone I've talked to except the dental health professionals I saw this morning told me that it might be scurvy and I need lots of vitamin C.

On the other hand, they said there's nothing wrong with my gums (aside from the gingivitis from not flossing good enough), that this is the gums "pulling back" and not "receding" (same dictionary definition), but that I should probably switch to a Sonicare^® electric toothbrush because those tend to be better for your gums than manual brushes, as they teach you not to push down on your gums while flossing.

I've got a decent amount of Irish blood in me, so I've never really been worried about cavities or my teeth falling apart. Them falling out, on the other hand, is a different story, and I do tend to get a bit paranoid about my gums. Feels like I ought to give up on dentists and try finding a gingivist to see twice a year instead.

All really interesting.  I think university diets are all universally bad -- even if you're not poor, so many of us end up like 5 year-olds left alone for the first time. :-)

My dentist has a big mosaic on the loo floor that reads "FLOSS!".  He's pretty militant about it, actually.

It's 2 am, midway thru a 7 hour road trip, and I-77 is at a standstill. Not a slow crawl, an actual turn your car off you're going to be sitting here awhile standstill.

And Weird Al's "Trigger Happy" is on my playlist.

My quote for the last six months? One more fruiting thing. }:(
This message was last edited by the user at 06:07, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

Still sitting in the the same spot on this interstate parking lot... *bangs head on steering wheel to stay awake*

At least I have my iPhone and internet access.
This message was last edited by the user at 07:00, Thu 07 Aug 2014.

My sincerest condolences.  I hate traffic, even when it's just moving slow.  When it's actually stopped?  Ugh....

My milk has gone bad 3 days early... again. It seems 1/2 the time I buy milk these days it goes bad 2-4 days early. The other half the time it lasts 4-5 days AFTER the sell buy date....?

In reply to Merevel (msg # 100):

That is really weird. Is the power feeding your fridge cutting out? Or is someone else drinking from the bottle?

My kids and brother spent the last two weeks with me. But he is pretty good about returning things to the fridge for a 13 year old.

As for the fridges temp, nothing else seems to go bad. I have some eggs that have been in there since I moved and they are fine.

Is it always the same brand? And type of milk?  Do you buy it from the same place?

I've noticed that skim milk seems to go bad more quickly than the 2%, based on the sell by date.

Also, when I buy milk or any other dairy product, I always buy from the back and check the expiration dates.   I don't drink milk very quickly, so I want the extra day or three of storage.

I am not a big milk drinker. When my kids are not down I am going to 1/2 gallons for cooking and coffee.

Same place, type, and yes I do pay attention to the dates on them.

In reply to Shannara (msg # 103):

I've found just the opposite since it's the fats that go rancid: skim milk has less fat so lasts longer.

Merevel, try getting some from a different store or different supplier/brand. If it goes bad, too, then it's likely a fridge problem. If your fridge isn't holding a steady temp or someone's leaving the door open too long, that could do it, too.

I will try it. I turned the fridge down a little. Though come to think of it the only thing in it that can spoil is eggs...

Eggs are pretty resilient, what with having their own natural packaging.

Lol then I have no reason to run the fridge part.

Well then, you could always make it easy on yourself and get that shelf-stable milk and shut off the fridge completely. :-p