Food stuck in gums won't come out

[mojojoyo25]

I was eating strawberries the other day and I believe that a small seed got stuck in my gums behind my right wisdom tooth on the bottom. This has happened before with popcorn, but the offending particles easily came out and the swelling went down. Now, whatever is stuck there is pretty well stuck. My gum is swollen pretty badly and it's starting to get pretty painful. I'm sure that it's from the strawberries, I had no problems before I started eating them and could feel the seed getting stuck, I though it would dislodge immediately. What solutions do I have? I'm far away at school from my dentist, is there anything that I can do? Thank you.

[Gellia]

Hi,
Have you tried swishing very warm salt water in your mouth vigorously?  That may help reduce the swelling enough to float the seed out.
Also, you could try some ice on the outside of your face, again to help reduce the swelling so the seed will come out on its own.  

Don't try to pick it out.  You can drive it further in.

If that doesn't work, you may need to find a dentist nearby to help you.

Good luck and best to you,
Gellia

[a83rc7om8i3]

yea somthing kinda like that happend to me to i was eatng popcorn and i think im not 100% sure but a piece got stuck between two really tight teeth i tryed flossing i tryed brushing i tryed with my nails and everytime i bite down it feels like somthing goes into my gums and come back out is somthing there and how do i get out or did my gums swell up and thats all im feeling

[Gellia]

Hi,
Try that salt water thing.  Make the water as hot as you can stand it and salt the water til it tastes sort of like the ocean.  Swish around the area that feels like something is in the gum.  The salt helps to reduce swelling.  Ice on the outside of the face will help, too.
If you can take ibuprofen, that will also reduce any inflammation around the gum.
When you floss, do it GENTLY.  If you irritate your gum  anything in there will not come out.
Take the floss and move down along the side of the tooth.  When you get to the bottom, form a "C" like motion to the tooth base and see if you can scoop anything out.

Continue with the salt water four or five times a day for about 5 minutes.  
The idea is to reduce the inflammation so anything stuck can float out or come out with the floss.

You really can't wait too long before you see a dentist if something is really stuck.  It will only really irritate your gum.
Do make an appointment.  You can always cancel if any of the above works and makes it feel better.

Good luck and my best to you,
Gellia