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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / December 2003Really weird dental problem
I used to have a great smile, but I have obsessive-compulsive disorder and can't stop salivating (whenever I think about salivating, I salivate). The problem is, whenever I swallow the excess saliva (several times a minute), my tongue rubs against my front gums and wears on them making them bleed. (You can read more here: http://raggedtiger.tripod.com/ocd.html ) I've tried over 15 different OCD medications that don't work, and am in therapy with a behavior therapist but apparently there's not much to be done. All my dentist can think of is to give me a mouth guard, which protects my gums at home but I don't wear it in public. My dentist verified there is no physical disorder in my mouth causing me to salivate. So I want to know what to expect after rubbing my gums continuously: Will my gums wear away behind my teeth first (where my tongue rubs), or will they recede in front at the same time? (They've already receded in front some.) Then will my teeth fall out, or will I just have teeth with no gums around them? > > I used to have a great smile, but I have obsessive-compulsive disorder and [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > some.) Then will my teeth fall out, or will I just have teeth with no > gums around them? Just off the top of my head, it seems unlikely in the extreme that rubbing your gums with your tongue will make normal gums bleed, unless there is something very unusual with your tongue. It seems more likely that you would get ulcers on your tongue. Make sure your oral hygiene is good. Compulsive oral hygiene is more likely to take a toll on your gums, so watch it. I assume your teeth are in fairly normal position, and have not been displaced by your habit. Steve Atropine can decrease the saliva flow. Maybe that would help. Its a a prescription, so ask your physician or dentist if they feel that would be worth a try. Good luck. > I used to have a great smile, but I have obsessive-compulsive disorder and > can't stop salivating (whenever I think about salivating, I salivate). [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > some.) Then will my teeth fall out, or will I just have teeth with no > gums around them? >I used to have a great smile, but I have obsessive-compulsive disorder and >can't stop salivating (whenever I think about salivating, I salivate). REPLY Actually I do too. It started for me with fast food. Whenever I think about it, I salivate ......... >The problem is, whenever I swallow the excess saliva (several times a >minute), my tongue rubs against my front gums and wears on them making [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >protects my gums at home but I don't wear it in public. My dentist >verified there is no physical disorder in my mouth causing me to salivate. Is your dentist Dr. Pavlov by any chance? >So I want to know what to expect after rubbing my gums continuously: Will >my gums wear away behind my teeth first (where my tongue rubs), or will >they recede in front at the same time? (They've already receded in front >some.) Then will my teeth fall out, or will I just have teeth with no >gums around them? Nope.No problem.  SignatureJoel M. Eichen, . Philadelphia PA DISCLAIMER FOLLOWS: ********* Dental health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of the SciMedDentistry gang or any other official agency either actual or fictitious or Steve Mancuso. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a dentist who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's dental history. STANDARD DISCLAIMER > >So I want to know what to expect after rubbing my gums continuously: Will > >my gums wear away behind my teeth first (where my tongue rubs), or will [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Nope.No problem. Well they've already receded some (as my dentist noticed), and if I don't control the rubbing then they bleed. I suppose I should I also mention that my dad and I have some sort of gum disease that apparently can't be cured (a specialist noticed our gums are pinker than normal, but couldn't diagnose anything, or give any advice other than lots of Listerine), so my gums are weaker than most peoples'. Someone asked if my tongue also gets sore from the rubbing, and it does sometimes. But I think my gums are a lot weaker, and I'm rubbing them right at the gumline where they're more vulnerable. Hi Jim, I got obsessive compulsive disorder as well, and this caused me to not brush my teeth for 6 years due to fear of germs. What an idiotic thing to do. Dont really have any good advice, but I think salivating is a good thing for your teeth, concidering you probably use SSRI meds that dry the mouth, like I do. Best wishes! Do not panic. If you get up to seven years without brushing, then its time to worry. >Hi Jim, I got obsessive compulsive disorder as well, and this caused >me to not brush my teeth for 6 years due to fear of germs. What an >idiotic thing to do. >Dont really have any good advice, but I think salivating is a good >thing for your teeth, concidering you probably use SSRI meds that dry >the mouth, like I do. Best wishes! SignatureJoel M. Eichen, . Philadelphia PA DISCLAIMER FOLLOWS: ********* Dental health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of the SciMedDentistry gang or any other official agency either actual or fictitious or Steve Mancuso. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a dentist who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's dental history. STANDARD DISCLAIMER Well yeah the salivating is good, so that's why my dentist didn't want to prescribe something that would make me not salivate. The excessive salivation is because of my OCD, not any physical problem. The worse problem is that everytime I swallow, my tongue rubs against my gums making them bleed. I'm so tired of my mouth being sore and bleeding because of this, but I guess no one can help. My dentist gave me a mouthguard to protect my gums (she can see my gums are receding because of this already), but of course I don't wear it in public. All I want to know is: after my gums have been rubbed away by my tongue (which is indeed already happening), will my teeth fall out or just stay in without any gums around them? Is the rubbing of the gums occurring behind the top front teeth? If so, you could have an acrylic guard made to just fit behind your front teeth on your gums only. It would be like a retainer in a way...the same shape. You could wear this in public as it would not cover the entire tooth and would allow you to talk... > Well yeah the salivating is good, so that's why my dentist didn't want to > prescribe something that would make me not salivate. The excessive [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > (which is indeed already happening), will my teeth fall out or just stay > in without any gums around them? Yeah it's behind the front teeth. My dentist thought about putting something like that in to protect them, but said my speech would be slurred. Is there something better that wouldn't affect my speech? > Is the rubbing of the gums occurring behind the top front teeth? If so, you > could have an acrylic guard made to just fit behind your front teeth on your [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > (which is indeed already happening), will my teeth fall out or just stay > > in without any gums around them? > Yeah it's behind the front teeth. My dentist thought about putting > something like that in to protect them, but said my speech would be > slurred. Is there something better that wouldn't affect my speech? Jim, I wore a retainer for several months that caused me to slur and lisp at first. You can teach yourself not to not slur or lisp though. I sang in the car, read out loud to the cat at home, and spoke normally within two or three weeks. You might want to consult a speech therapist for help developing correct technique since you might have to deal with this long term if you go the mouth-guard route. enk |
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