worried about periodontitis.

[h1430640]

Hello

A few years ago I visited a peridontitis specialist for detailed examination and x-ray, the specialist suggested that I had early periodontal disease where deep scaling is necessary. After that, I went for maintenance a couple of times every 1 to 3 months but then I stopped because of high cost and I did not have insurance. I've stopped now for three years, but I still visit general dentists every year for routine cleaning. But I have to confess that sometimes I am getting lazy and don't use interdental brushes to clean between tooth every day. Today between some of my tooth it bleeds when I use interdental brushes, it didn't happen before in the last 3 years.

Is my peridontal disease coming back ? Is it enough to visit only general dentists? Will they overlook the early periodontal disease? Because here the general dentists NEVER use probe or x-ray to me.

I really don't want to go to the specialist it's really a lot of money

 

[honestdoc]

Where are you located? It is standard of care to probe your gums and provide treatment like scaling & root planing. Going to the specialist would be your general dentist's call. Many clinics have periodontal hygienists that can deep clean (scaling & root planing) severe periodontal disease.

 

[calex75]

I am in no way a specialist but I have been fighting this disease for 17 years now.
Both specialists I saw minimized their role and told me I was the main actor on this fight.
- Brush you teeth 3 times a day if you can (bacteria would start to be pathogen after 8 hours for some reason)
- Use a proper technique (

), if it is too hard for you, acquire an electric brush,
- Use soft brush tooth and change them every months.
- Each teeth has 5 faces, use an inter-dental brush for the 2 you can't
- Quit smoking if you smoke
These points are simple, inexpensive, and would be key to success.

When it comes to descaling (in the country I lived, descaling was no done by hygienist but by the dentist)
- The first dentist I had for 10 years who diagnosed my disease insisted that I came every 6 months for some deep descaling which was each time very painful. A few months after each descaling, bleeding was coming back , at the end I had often some parodontium abscess (not sure if it is the proper translation). 50% of my bone melted and my teeth started to be loose...
- Then I moved to Luxembourg, and in 2013, I decided to see a specialist. He started by some kind of deep clean (would it be a root descaling, I am not sure. All I remember is that I spent 2600 euros and it was so painful that I could barely eat for 2 weeks).
- But strangely after that, I have seen him every 6 months for 2 years and he barely descaled once between some tooth so my inter-dental brush could pass. When I asked him about descaling, he was answering no... During this time, I have not seen a single drop of blood when I was brushing my teeth. But my gum retracted a lot, which is not really aesthetic, but avoided me any surgery.
- Back in France. Next specialist insisted to do a gentle descaling every 6 months... Still no blood no abscess...
- Now I live in Canada, new country, new custom. Here plaque would come within 21 days so a descaling would be required every 3 months and it is 3x more expensive than in France or Luxembourg. (I know It does not make sense to me to do a descaling every 3 months if the plaque comes back every 3 weeks but it is what I was said, and I won't see this dentist again either). Anyway my teeth have not been cleaned for more than 1 year, I can no longer brush my teeth 3x a day (so I am down to 2), and I have seen some blood while rinsing my mouth. I could not see where the blood was coming from but blood there was). I really have to contact and hygienist and a specialist because the fight is not over.

Conclusion
If you're bleeding that's no good... Keep cleaning between teeth and if it does not stop withing weeks, I'd see a serious specialist (if he does not measure each of your pocket he is not serious). And then brush brush brush each of your facet. It is the only way to go.
When it comes to descaling... Each country/specialist looks to have a different approach. But I doubt everyone really need a $175 cleaning every 3 months as I have been told here.