I started dipping about a year ago, started with just Skoal pouches and eventually moved on to Skoal long cut. Finally I moved to Grizzly Wintergreen and Mint, I chewed these daily at least 5 times a day for about 3 months and noticed a little bit of damage to my gums, they were lower in the spots where I was packing bombs than anyother spot.
So I quit, cold turkey for about a month and a half. I eventually started packing Skoal again because I thought it was "safer" than Grizzly. WRONG. My gums continued to get lower and lower and they started to bleed a LOT whenever I brushed my teeth. So I quit for the second and final time.
My dentist was bound to notice the damage and when he did he told me that I needed a procedure called a gum graft to fix the damage and prevent further damage. This procedure involves a ton of novocaine.... a chunk of gum tissue is taken from behind your molar and once the damaged area has been cleaned and cut around a bit the chunk is stitched to the low spots.
Doesn't sound too bad huh? WRONG!!!
When the novocaine wears off, for me it was some of the strongest pain I have felt in my entire life. It is like getting kicked in the teeth every second for as long as you can bear it before popping the prescribed pain killers or some other medicine.
I cannot eat solid foods for 3 weeks and no physical activity that could raise my heart rate and cause the stitches to bleed for a week.
This was in no way fun, cool, or anything positive. Chew is expensive and could eventually cause you a lot of pain.
It's your life do what you want, but if you have gum damage think about quitting.
Thanks for reading.
