dental adventures so far this year

As I write this, I just came back from the dentist. A second abscess formed that needed to be removed, this time on the upper gum. It was a small one, but needed to be done. The first abscess was on the lower gum, and that one was large. I had that taken care of in late 2025.

Any time an abscess forms, as in that hard bump, yes, it absolutely has to be taken care of. If not taken care of, that leads to major dental problems later. Not issues. Problems. As in very painful problems.

Were these abscesses my fault? They might have been.

A brief history of me and my teeth:

In my teens and 20s, I went to the dentist when I had to, but wasn't good with my dental care.

In my 30s, I started going to the dentist a lot more. Any time I had anything go wrong even to the slightest degree, I'd book an appointment at the dentist, go, and just get it over with. During this decade of my life, many cavities repaired, several fillings put in, along with a few crowns and root canals.

In my early 40s, mostly the same.

In my late 40s, this is when I finally started getting serious with my dental care. I learned the "modified Bass brushing technique", and flossed way more often. However, for whatever stupid reason, I thought all toothpaste was bad. While my brushing technique was great (and I also switched out for a new toothbrush once a month like clockwork), and my flossing was also great, no toothpaste used at all...

...and that's when I got my first abscess.

But even after I got that fixed, I still didn't go back to toothpaste.

Now before continuing, a couple of things.

First, make no mistake that oh yes, I was really good about brushing, and once or twice weekly used baking soda as a toothpaste. You can't use baking soda every day because it's too abrasive, but once or twice weekly is fine as long as it's spread 2 to 3 days apart. For example, brush with baking soda on Monday, water-only for Tue/Wed, baking soda on Thursday, water-only for Fri-Sat-Sun, repeat. And since I know some would be curious, the way to brush with baking soda is to put a teaspoon of it dry in the hand, take your toothbrush with the other hand, wet bristles, dip into the baking soda, brush normally. Dip the bristles into the baking soda a few times during brushing. The taste of baking soda is slightly salty, nothing crazy.

Second, I was also very good about flossing.

But even with all that in check, a few months later I feel a second abscess starting to form high on the upper gum.

"Oh, hell no...", I said to myself.

This is when I changed up how I brush and floss.

When the first abscess happened, that thing kept growing and got fairly large pretty quick.

This time around, I didn't want that happening, so this is what I did:

First, it was back to all the stuff I thought was "bad" before.

This started with Sensodyne Extra Whitening. It worked, but burned my gums a bit. Switched over to Colgate Optic White Advanced. My gums liked this a lot better.

For floss, Reach Waxed Unflavored, although generic grocery store floss pretty much does the same job (but does shred more easily).

For mouthwash, I refuse to use anything with coloring in it, so I went with Listerine Total Care Alcohol Free "Extra Mild", which is totally clear like a proper mouthwash should be.

As for my toothbrushes, again I switch out for a new one once monthly (every 1st of the month) and just buy whatever is available. However, I did switch over to an extra soft toothbrush. I can handle soft just fine, but needed to go extra soft for what I'm about to explain next.

Second, it was time to change around my brushing technique. Again.

A modified Bass brushing technique totally works, but I modified that even further by brushing not just above the gum lines but way higher and way lower. I would brush my teeth first for front and back as usual, but then brush over as much gum as possible. Everywhere I could brush, I did, and still do.

Regular soft bristle toothbrushes made my gums too sore, hence the reason I switched to extra soft. And as I discovered, I can get my teeth just as clean with extra soft as I can with soft, so I stuck with it.

Third, it was time to increase how often I brushed.

I now brush way more often. Instead of twice daily, it's now 3 to 5 times. Basically any time after I eat anything, even if just a snack. Flossing is included.

When that upper gum abscess formed, I had one goal. Stop the growth of it and see if it goes away on its own.

The growth of it did stop and it stayed small, but after a month it wasn't showing any signs of going away, which is why going to the dentist was required to get rid of it.

HOWEVER... there's still the question of whether the abscesses were my fault in the first place for not using toothpaste.

I believe the answer is yes and no.

The upper gum abscess was fairly close to where I had some root canal work done in the past. Sometimes it just happens where something on the inside of the gum just decides to get infected near where root canal work was done before, even if it was years ago.

But, sometimes an abscess can happen from something as stupid as a piece of spice that got stuck in the gum and was never cleared out, such as a tiny peppercorn flake. Something that small is something you can't see nor feel, and if it stays there, yeah, an abscess can form just from that.

That abscess I had on the upper gum was fairly high up there, so what I think happened is that it was a combination of a reaction from prior root canal work, not brushing extra high up on the gum, and not using a mouthwash to really clear out everything up there (I had used just water prior).

For all I know, it might have very well been a piece of spice that got stuck up there, and the reason the growth stopped is because I was finally cleaning all the gum area properly.

I am now all-in with toothpaste, flossing, mouthwash, and modified brushing technique that covers everywhere. All the teeth, all the gums. Brushed, flossed, rinsed, and done often.

Heck, I might even get a copper tongue scraper and probably will, because supposedly that's good for the mouth also.

I'm probably.. correction.. I know I'm taking better care of my mouth better than I ever have before in my life. Abscesses suck, and I intend on never having one ever again. True, there was no pain involved with either, but that's because I had them both fixed before they became a problem.

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