Hi Alison
I had the same problem. In fact, at the rear of my mouth, I currently have some gum growth where the gum has actually completely overwhelmed the brace anchor (the anchor is now totally under the gum and cant be seen!).
However, I have been dealing with this myself. I did a little research into it and my progress has been swift.
The gum growth, while it could just be natural, is most commonly where plaque has formed around the gum line causing the gum to swell. My dentist told me that this can, if left, lead to gum disease. What you need to do is ask your dentist or a dental hygienist to confirm it.
Myself, I stopped having food with lumps in, and cut sugar out of my diet completely. Removing lumpy food made cleaning with just the mouth wash (in early post op days) easier. I removed sugar from my diet purely to improve the health of my teeth.
So, after that I have done the following, for the past 2 weeks:
I bought all of the brushes shown on these 2 pages:
http://www2.tepe.com/en/products/interdental-brushes/
http://www2.tepe.com/en/products/special-brushes/
The interdental brushes come in different sizes. Your dentist may be able to identify which sizes you need.
While your gums are still "swollen", using the interdental brushes will be painful. They work like floss, but in my opinion they're much more effective. You're going to have to get them under the swollen areas of gum, and brush them between your teeth. If the gums bleed, then you can be almost sure that they are swelling due to a plaque build up between the teeth or below the gum line where the mouth wash has not reached. If a brush wont fit, don't try to force it, try a smaller size. A rule of thumb: if the brush feels like it is going to bend as you try to get it between your tooth, then it's too big and you're pushing too hard.
My full routine:
1. Normal brushing; gums, area where teeth meet gums, under side of brace, front of brace, top of brace, top of teeth, back of teeth.
2. Interspace toothbrush; again around the gums, back of teeth.
3. Interdental brushes between all teeth.
4. I have another brush with a name that I dont remember. It's like 2 small wire brushes on either end of the handle, I use it for cleaning the sides of the brace brackets, and under the wire.
5. Leave it 5-10 mins and then rinse with mouth wash
6. do another final, standard brush with a fluoride tooth paste - and i dont rinse my mouth after this - the fluoride strengthens your teeth
After 1 week of doing this all of my gum swelling had gone apart from the one troubled area at the very back.
I hope this helps - once again I recommend that you confirm this with your dentist, it may only be relevant to my case.
