Bleeding gums due to CPAP?

[Catnap]

Went for my dental checkup today and the hygienist did the perio check where she pokes into the gum pockets to measure the depth. In several (many!) places, this caused bleeding. She said, "Don't worry about all this bleeding. We often see that with people who have started using CPAP." She didn't seem to know why, just that it was a common association. Anyone have any idea why using CPAP would cause/contribute to bleeding gums? The perio check was okay and I don't have any other dental issues aside from a couple old fillings that are starting to wear out.

[Hawthorne]

I have had many dental cleanings and lots since I started cpap 7+ years ago. I have had bleeding after the cleanings, sometimes, but I had them, sometimes, before I began cpap therapy too.

In my opinion, the bleeding gums have nothing to do with cpap. In my case, sometimes the hygenists is a little more aggressive with the checkup than other times or maybe new or newly sharpened instruments were used, if they sharpen those things.

[40 Winks]

I think there is some connection. Check out viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38981&p=340858#p340858

[Catnap]

OMG, great avatar, 40! Thanks for the link. I'm going to have to question my dentist a little more next time I see him. I do use a FFM, but also humidifier, etc., so it doesn't seem as if my mouth is drier than pre-CPAP. This has got me thinking about tooth brushing, though, particularly that I should probably be more diligent about brushing before bed. I'll repost if I learn anything significant from the dentist (probably be awhile unless I decide to get the fillings replaced sooner than I think I will).

[Gerald]

For the past 15-years or so, I've been having my teeth cleaned every 120-days....just to be sure that I don't have gum disease.

For the past 3-years, I've alternated between my dentist and a periodontist for the cleanings....just to be sure.

So far, my system seems to be working nicely. I floss with a tool ("Mr. Flosser".....not available anymore from Bridgestone)....I brush with an electric toothbrush....and I use a "pressure-washer" (Water-Pic) with 1/3 mouthwash and 2/3 warm water mix.

After reading a bunch of articles on heart disease.....and after seeing the interiors of diseased arteries, I've pretty well come to the conclusion that gum disease....a bacterial infection....is a leading cause of heart disease. Researchers are beginning to lean toward the opinion....that the germs that cause gum disease......and the germs that cause a particular type of pneumonia....and the mailn culprits in heart disease. I think that the primary cause of heart attacks is diseased arterial walls....caused by on-going blood poisoning.....caused by gum disease....and maybe even caused by infected hemorrhoids.