Does deep cleaning make your teeth look longer?

[manaus]

Hello everyone!

Recently, I changed dentists (my regular doctor is very ill). My new dentist said I have plaque under the gum line. He couldn't believe I had my last regular cleaning only 4 months ago and said I needed a "deep cleaning" (root planing and scaling).

By the way, I brush my teeth at least 3 times a day, floss daily, and my gums aren't bleeding. I've been having a regular cleaning every 3-4 months with my old dentist since I was diagnosed with beginning gum disease.

My old dentist did some type of procedure, probably "flap surgery" when he diagnosed me with gum disease. That was about 16 years ago. After the surgery, my teeth looked longer.

1. Will the deep cleaning that my new dentist recommended make my teeth look even longer?
2. What's the difference between the procedure that my old dentist did and a deep cleaning (root planing and scaling)?

 

[KarenP.]

I am not a dentist. However, the deep cleaning should not make your teeth look longer unless you have significant gum disease. The reason why I think this is because your gums could be swollen because of the tartar and plaque under the gumline. Once this stuff is removed, your gums could recede because they are healing. I myself have "long" teeth, but I have accepted this as the result of many years of poor dental hygiene.

What you should be also considering is the size of the periodontal pockets along your gums. I don't think patients really think about the size as that important. However, the size of the pockets do provide an indication of whether or not your gum health is getting better, worse, or stablizing. If you are cognizant of the numbers, then at least you know whether or not you are attaining your goal of healthy gums, or for that matter, stablizing your condition.

Because I abhor dental surgery of any kind, I feel that there is a huge difference between gum flap surgery and a deep cleaning. Deep cleaning is much less invasive. You apparently have accumulated plaque down below the gum line and your new dentist will have to give you a needle while he scoops out the calcified plaque. I suspect that your previous dentist cut a flap in your gums, so that he could access the same plaque.

I am surprised that despite the excellent oral hygiene that you have been undertaking all these years that you need a deep cleaning. This is truly unfortunate that your efforts have not been rewarded with perfectly healthy gums. Maybe I am right, maybe I am wrong. I am beginning to believe that only the patient with the assistance of his/her dentist can achieve true dental health. A dentist has over 700 patients ... how can he/she remember and provide good advice to each and every patient. (For example, I myself have a genetic predisposition to abnormally higher amounts of plaque. And I feel that this has never been adequately addressed by any of my dentists). On the other hand, no matter how hard a dentist works to help his/her patients, there is no guarantee that the patient will understand and follow the dentist's instructions.

Best of luck. I hope that your new dentist works out for you.