# Is Blood Pouring Out Of Your Gums When You Floss A Bad Sign? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397 "2003-05-06T14:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397/21 "2003-05-09T15:14:56Z")
**peri** I had five or so 5mm pockets, and one or two 6mm pockets, with some bone loss around the teeth, so I think that’s stage II. In your experience, is stage II ever “reversed” (reduction of pocket size and/or bone restoration), or is the best outcome usually stabilization? I am going to follow my dentist’s recommendations, and may consult a periodontist soon - I **want** to keep my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397/22 "2003-05-09T15:40:16Z")
neuroman, 4 and 5 mm pockets are bad, but treatable. My wife, the hygienist routinely sees people with up to 14mm pockets. That’s bad! See a dentist. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397/23 "2003-05-09T19:10:01Z")
IANAD(entist), but IMHO if you have 4 or 5 mm. pockets, the best course of action is to have a periodontist perform a gingivectomy. I’m surprised your dentist has not recommended one. If you are young and now follow good dental hygiene, the gum tissue may grow back - may. Not likely. It’s definitely treatable, but treatable by the gingivectomy, which is usually done in quarters at a time. Once that is done, good hygiene will prevent a repeat. ---
**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397/24 "2003-05-09T19:18:48Z")
“IANAD(entist), but IMHO if you have 4 or 5 mm. pockets, the best course of action is to have a periodontist perform a gingivectomy.” Are you kidding? I’m glad you said IANAD…because that’s way extreme. My wife is a hyngeinist, her dad and sister are dentists. When I first met my wife I had a few 4 mm pockets and within 6 months of semi-routine flossing…they’re all down to 2 or less…most are barely 1’s. Anything over 6 definitely needs to be addressed because you’re well on your way to advanced perio disease. 4-6mm pockets need to be addressed for sure, but nothing to panic about. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397/25 "2003-05-09T21:18:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by metroshane \* > \*\*"4-6mm pockets need to be addressed for sure, but nothing to panic about. \*\* I agree. Last May, I had many 4 and 5 mm pockets, with nothing worse. They gave me a thorough gum cleaning, and I had to have another in 3 months. I began flossing at least 5 times per week. My teeth were just cleaned two days ago, and the hygeinist raved about my oral hygeine. Long story short, 4 and 5 mm pockets are fully reversable. ---
**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397/26 "2003-05-09T21:19:57Z")
I used to brush daily, but never mouthwashed or flossed. On the rare occasion that I did floss, it bled madly. I learned my lesson. Upon a visit to the dentist, they noticed that despite the good quality of my teeth, my gums were in the early signs of gingivitis. So, they did some sort of operation involving a device that ejected high pressure streams of liquid, and did this in and around my gums. The sensation was utterly weird, and although not painful per se, I would not like tolerating it again. ---
**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397/27 "2003-05-09T21:34:34Z")
Unless they did something special…the water devise is called a cavitron, a less invasive cleaning tool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-blood-pouring-out-of-your-gums-when-you-floss-a-bad-sign/173397.md?page=1)