It’s not unheard of for a food particle to get stuck between your teeth. This is more likely to occur with meat fibers, nuts, and seeds. However, most of the time the offending food item tends to work itself out.
However, there are other times when a hard piece of food can break off when you bite it to become uncomfortably lodged in your sensitive gumline. This is more likely to happen with hard chips, brittle candies, and other crunchy foods.
Even if you are experiencing significant distress, pressure, or discomfort, it’s important to remain calm. Taking a patient approach to removing the food item from your gumline will help minimize further complications.
A vigorous rinse with a little saltwater might help to dislodge the object from between your periodontal tissues. Even if it fails to remedy the situation the rinse might wash away lingering food debris to give you a better look at the problem.
You shouldn’t attempt to loosen it with toothpicks or any other type of sharp pointed tools to pry the object loose. This could injure your gums or potentially chip a tooth.
Waxed dental floss is the ideal tool for gently working the item loose from your gumline. The waxy coating allows the strand to slide easier between teeth to worked around the foreign object. You should never force the floss into place, as it could seriously injure your gums.
If you still can’t comfortably remove the item from your gumline or you need professional treatment you can always call 650-321-4544 to have it removed by Dr. David McKenna at McKenna Family Dentistry’s clinic in Palo Alto, California.