Past Treatments for Gum Diseases

[1socalgal]

Hello...I was curious about past (or present) treatments for gum diseases, specifically what was/is called 'trench mouth.' When I was 3 yrs old in the late-60's I was diagnosed with this oral disease by the doctors on a Naval base. The doctor told my mom that the only way to treat this disease was to break all the bloody blisters. The doctor proceeded to hold me down and scrubbed my mouth with a toothbrush until all the blisters were broken, and my mouth was bleeding. Needless to say, I have no recollection of this event, but apparently it was so traumatic, I stopped talking for months and developed a withdrawn personality years after. But, that's not my point. I was wondering if that was standard practice back then (or now?) or was that method the only means to 'cure' such a disease back in the day? I can't imagine dentists/doctors *still* doing something like that to a child, much less adults nowadays.