Here I go again, talk me down, please?

[HulaHoops]

So for the past month-ish or so my gums have been bleeding off and on, no swelling. I'm on top of my dental hygiene and keep my 6-month checkups, it was odd, so I google it (I know, I know, I'm usually good about not doing that), and of course my mind goes immediately to leukemia. I went to the dentist today for my 6-month checkup and the hygienist noticed my gums bleeding more. I mentioned it, and the dentist looked around and poked my gums to see if they would bleed then, they did not. She doesn't think its leukemia (she said, hmm I don't think so, lol), she thinks its stress-related and/or I'm grinding my teeth in my sleep. That's good of course, but I'm sure we all know how getting in our own heads about this stuff can go. I made an appointment with my doctor because I want to find out what's up, I go in Wednesday morning.

Anyway, I don't really have any other symptoms. I have a few bruises on my legs that are older and healing, but I'm prone to that and always have been. No fever, chills, weird rashes, bone pains, no unexplained weight loss, no swollen nodes anywhere (I have checked lol). I have had two bad anxiety flare-ups this year tho, the last big one was over mother's day weekend and was pretty awful but I eventually bounced. I had routine blood work back in December and it came back normal, so there's that. But boy I hate my anxiety brain, I can't seem to reason or rationalize with myself that I'm likely okay and its stress or a vitamin difficency or menopause-related. Help?

 

[Beautiful Disaster]

Bleeding gums are common. My dentist has told me your toothbrush can even cause it. The harder the bristles are (like if you buy a medium or hard bristle brush), the more likely you are to have gum bleeding problems. Use the softest toothbrush you can find. Over flossing can cause bleeding gums as well. My dentist would always talk about those battery powered toothbrush because they mimic what the dentist uses and water pics instead of floss. I haven’t tried either. But all this goes to say is that bleeding gums are very common and mostly from over brushing and flossing. Your dentist probably chuckled at the leukemia remark because to her it seemed so far fetched . And yes I have also heard stress and teeth grinding can all cause this- there are so many common causes! Your bloodwork was fine in December- it wouldn’t change that fast. I am betting you find nothing to worry about come Wednesday morning. Hope this helps.

 

[earlaramos]

My gums are historically very weak, even if I brush lightly, and unable to use waterjet cleaner, I use a light brush and always eat soft foods to avoid any harsh impact.