Hi all,

I've had gingivitis for many years (I'm 37 yo male) because I had horrible dental hygiene. I've never flossed, and even brushing has been spotty at best.

I went to the dentist a couple of months ago because I noticed a part of one of my gums between two teeth (the "toe" of the gum that drops down between the two teeth) had separated and was sort of a loose "flap". Not the whole gum; just the lower, oh, I'd guess around 2mm or so. Not enough to panic, but enough to realize, hey, I'd better go get a cleaning done.

She did a full cleaning, and I was scared enough by the episode to start really following proper dental hygiene. I'm proud to say that I've flossed every day since then, and have brushed every day as well. My gums, which used to be red, are now pink and a LOT healthier-looking.

However--that one spot where the gum was a "flap" is still like that. It's also still slightly red (although it's not as bad as it was when I first noticed it). My question is: how long will it take for that to heal? Will it EVER heal, or do I likely need some sort of interventionary measure? I don't want to go back to the dentist just to find out, if I can avoid paying that....

Thanks!
Dave