Inflamed Gums / Gingivitis

My almost 5 year old is currently in an advanced light-wire functional appliance. I’m not quite sure exactly what happened...he told me he was eating an apple and a sharp piece get stuck between the appliance and his gum and was there for days without him telling me...until it started causing pain. 

Who knows if that’s what actually happened 😂 But regardless, that area became SUPER sensitive. I ended up taking out the appliance (I do not recommend anyone else do this without their providers guidance lol), and the tissue underneath his back molar started bleeding and was very inflammed. 

Let me walk you through exactly what I did to support healing.

1

The first thing I did was was have him rinse the area out with his little water flosser. When you’re in an expander, you can’t floss like normal. You have to use something like a floss threader, or we got this water pick which is a lot easier to use with a 4 year old. 

2

Then I sprayed the area with hypochlorus acid. HOCl is a naturally occurring antimicrobial molecule our immune cells produce to help fight germs. I used it to help reduce bacteria and keep the irritated gum clean while it healed.

3

The next day I took him into the office to have the area cleaned extra well, and did some ozone therapy. If you can find a dentist who offers ozone therapy, we swear by it!

Ozone (O₃) is a highly reactive form of oxygen that rapidly destroys bacteria without harming healthy tissue. It’s able to penetrate into deep areas where brushes and traditional tools can’t reach. And it boosts healing by increasing local oxygen flow and triggering the body’s immune response to repair tissue. 

4

On our way home I grabbed some Vitamin E oil. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that protects our cells from damage caused by unstable molecules (free radicals). This can help reduce oxidative stress in the gum tissue and help calm some of the inflammatory response. It also plays a role in cell regeneration and tissue repair.

I got the little gel capsules, poked a hole, squeezed some out, and rubbed it right on the irritated gum.

Within 4 days he was completely back to normal. No pain, no visual inflammation, and no more bleeding.

5

In a perfect world, I would of had him do red light on the area and swish with StellaLife, but he wouldn’t do either (and that’s okay!) lolol

RLT uses low level wavelengths to boost cellular energy. This can help lower swelling and increase blood flow to speed up tissue repair. 

StellaLife is an exceptional mouthwash. It’s homeopathic formulated to preserve cell viability and stimulate fibroblast activity and collagen production. It’s the #1 mouth rise recommendation in our office. 

Now, of course this was a case where I knew exactly what was going on and what the root cause was. If you are having chronic gingivitis symptoms it’s important to establish yourself with a provider who can help nail down what’s going on…I would recommend an airway dentist.