Hey Kathy, Sorry to take so long to reply, but it's busy at work and haven't had the time I'd like "catching up" on my lists (no computer at home right now).
Anyhoo, I was diagnosed with periodontal disease of the gums a couple years ago. I don't remember now exactly how large my "gaps" were, but I have hardly any (if any) gaps at all now. He did pull some teeth that he claimed were way too far gone but he agreed to a "wait and see" on a few others. I still have all the others! My dentist is always amazed when I'm in for a cleaning once every six months. When I cleared the gum disease he of course wanted to know what I'd been doing. But then, of course, his eyes kinda glazed over when I told him about the CS. He just says keep doing whatever it is you're doing. He still has that same tunnel vision, as it comes up periodically when he looks back at my charts and is totally amazed at the difference in my gum health from then to now. All I did was religiously swish CS for several minutes several times daily, then swallowed it. So you are definitely on the right track!! I think the water pik may allow you to reach places that swishing alone can't get to. Now I'm not so fanatical about it daily, but when I have a dental visit coming up I try to do the swishing thing at least once or twice a day about a week or so before my appointment. Hope this helps! Ruth ----- Original Message ----- From: Kathy To: silver-list@eskimo.com Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2008 7:21 PM Subject: CS>abcessed gums It seems that I am having some dental problems, feels like a small abcess and a couple more places that are sensitive and just not "right". I've started using a water pick to get CS into the gums and also just swishing CS in the mouth. has anyone fixed a gum problem doing this? Could I just be pushing "gunk" deeper into a pocket with a water pik? I'm not working at this time and don't have dental insurance so really don't want to go there.... TIA Kathy
