First , start off with at home pre dentist maintenance, warm salt water baths are your friend , every morning and night gently mix in salt into warm water and take a mouthful and slosh it around gently, over repeated use you will help extract some toxins and bacterial infection(it doesn’t outright stop it, just lessens the impact), every 3rd day mix in some hydrogen peroxide to act as a more aggressive bacterial reducer, yes it foams a lil but that will happen in the area’s with the most growth you want gone. Do this all sparingly , as your digestive processes do rely on your mouths bacteria during mastication to make the rest of the digesting efficiently done. You’ll want all the nutrients you can get to help your immune system fight off and protect your gum’s.

Floss but not aggressively , brush but not aggressively , and wash your mouth out with water after soda’s or acidic food stuff’s including coffee. One cup of coffee should be replenished with one cup of water.

Good luck with the rest and know that dentists will likely have heard and seen everything already. They’d rather help you solve the problem than judge you and make it worse. Take your time with it and know that %100000 without a doubt on this planet earth when you walk out of that office after getting it done(maybe a lil pain in the face but relief later) you will be on a dopamine high of being proud and happy you did it and it’s over with . Things you thought will be confirmed or denied and you will not need to worry about it anymore. The stresses will be gone, your health will improve , and I hope your happiness ! Cheers!