15 years and no dentist has discovered my periodontal disease until now

Encorus

I've recently been diagnosed with periodontitis with 50% bone loss. I went to an orthodontist to get my open bite fixed, he sent me to get an x-ray, and based on that x-ray he told me I have bone loss (which he wrongly attributed to my malocclusion) and sent me to a periodontist (which said that the cause are bacteria and not malocclusion). Now I've shown the very same x-ray to my dentist, the same one who's been treating me for 2 years, and he did NOT notice anything wrong. Now 3.5 years ago, I had a prostate infection, and the urologist sent me immediately to get my teeth checked. The dentist (another on) took an x-ray, and told me that everything is ok, and I have no problem, except that my teeth need cleaning as there's a lot of tartar. He did not mention bone loss or anything. I have that x-ray, and compared it to the recent one, and it's almost identical, meaning I had the periodontitis back then already. Actually, according to my periodontist I've had it for about 15 years! In that period of time, I was at at least 4 different dentists in 2 different countries (Israel and then Hungary, where I live now) and non of them ever told me I have any gum disease, as I mentioned above, not even after seeing my x-ray.

I'm really angry about this, as my periodontal disease cause have been treated years ago and prevented, and now it's too much down the road, making the straightening of my teeth complicated, not to mention after the scaling and root planing my papilae completely disappeared, and in the future I might need to extract several teeth.

Do dentists don't care at all about the periodontal tissues? Non has ever checked my pocket depth, for example, a very simple test that takes a minute (I now know all the details which I did not all those years - I trusted my dentists, unfortunately).

I'm angry, angry, angry. Can I sue the dentist that 3.5 years ago told me that everything is ok after looking at my x-ray (which clearly showed 50% bone loss already)? That doctor even had a cue from the urologist that something is wrong, and yet he failed in his job (he didn't even have a proper x-ray viewer, he just held the x-ray to the light, examined it for 15 seconds and said: all is ok).

newmug

Sorry to hear about your this. I hope you get it sorted:(

Delancey

In relation to your question about suing you will really have to consult lawyers in both the countries you were living ( Israel and Hungary ). Boards.ie does not permit legal advice anyway.
Sorry to hear of your difficulties.

ballsymchugh

in relation to your periodontist, it's an estimate at best as to how long you've had perio disease. almost everyone has it to some degree anyway. but there are some types of it that are extremely aggressive and can cause a significant amount of bone loss in a short period of time. the only way to be 100% certain is to test for the kind of bacteria in the pockets.

not being smart either, but the only way to prevent perio disease is using a toothbrush and floss properly. as someone else posted in another thread a while back, unless your dentist follows you around everywhere watching what you eat, when you eat, and brushes/flosses your teeth themselves at least twice a day, then they're not fully responsible.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

OP are you a smoker?

Dianthus

Sounds like you've received a huge shock....
Over the last 15 years, have you been seeing the dentists for emergency/pain appointments, or for routine 6 monthly/yearly checkups?
I'm a bit confused as to why you're talking about suing the dentist from 3.5 years ago? He did advise you at the time that there was a lot of tartar& you needed a cleaning; was this done at the time? Also, you say your bone level now is no different now from back then- so (fortunately) there has been no progression of the disease since you saw that dentist- what makes him the bad guy out of the other three dentists in the last 15 years? Tartar causes gum disease, & he advised you that you had a lot of tartar& needed a cleaning?

Encorus

fitzgeme: I'm not a smoker. I am 38 years now and there was a period of a about a year or two in which I smoked on and off; last time I touched a cigarette was in 2006.

I would have expected a dentist who sees an x-ray that shows advanced alveolar bone loss to recognize that situation, and forward the patient to a periodontist for treatment. I went to a dentist (another one) immediately after the 2007 dentist that checked my x-ray told me that I have a lot of tartar and it got removed, but that was only surface cleaning, when what I really needed back then was deep cleaning (planing and scaling).

I would have also expected dentists to check for pocket depths with a probe. I was wondering why this isn't a regular routine when going to a dentist? Perhaps it is routine in Ireland?

I've never had tooth problems or pains. I had a few cavities over the years that got treated but never root canals or something serious. One thing I regret is that when I moved to Hungary from Israel I did not visit a dentist for nearly 5 years, although I brushed twice a day and flossed once a week (should have flossed once a day, now I know!). For some reason the tartar accumulation in Hungary was much much less than the one in Israel; probably because of the different type of air and water (in Israel I also had to descale the electric kettle much more often than here), so I didn't feel an urge to visit a dentist for quite some time (again, I know it was a mistake!).

Thanks for your replies; much appreciated.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Encorus - you sound like a fairly irregular attender also you changed dentist a lot which can lead to things being missed, anyway its a shame your periodontal disease has not been treated earlier. You should expect the dentist at a check up to probe your gums in several locations around the mouth. Take X-rays occasionally to check the bone levels and make comment about your gum. As Brian Cowan was fond of saying "we are where we are" and the retrospectoscope will not grown your bone back. Get the appropriate treatment and stick to the hygiene and recall schedule. Some gum disease is resistant to treatment but most periodontal disease can be maintained.

Encorus

In Israel I had the same dentist for 8 or so years before I moved. Here in Hungary I changed a dentist a few times, that's right. I asked my current dentist (or rather my ex-dentist, as I will never go to him again: he also took a look at the x-ray and didn't say that anything is wrong) why dentists never probed my gums. He answered that it's a standard check and they do it when an new patient arrives. So I asked him why didn't he do that check to me, and he couldn't really answer, but murmured something about me coming just for a clean up originally...

In any case, I hope this will get under control. I'm already going through orthodontal treatment (the periodontist gave the green light). After the treatment, which will last for two years (Damon braces with rubber bands to fix an open/cross bite) the periodontist said I'll have to make another x-ray and we'll go from there. I also visit him now every 3 months for a check up. I might need gum flap surgery at some point after the orthodontal treatment, but we'll see.

I'm waiting for LIPUS (ultrasound to grow teeth/bone) technique to develop further. I talked with the professor at the Alberta University where they research it and he said it's still tested only on animals at this point, but he confirmed it should allow to fix problems with the alveolar bone. Sounds promising... Anyone heard more about it?

Regarding the reasons for my periodontitis, it might have been my crowded teeth and malocclusion that contributed, and maybe also the fact that I'm a mouth breather, thus my mouth is dry. Trying to stop that habit now.

res ipsa

Perio is a disease of personal neglect & personal responsibility.Read Mathew 7:5.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Encorus wrote: »

I'm waiting for LIPUS (ultrasound to grow teeth/bone) technique to develop further. I talked with the professor at the Alberta University where they research it and he said it's still tested only on animals at this point, but he confirmed it should allow to fix problems with the alveolar bone. Sounds promising... Anyone heard more about it?

In the mean time try brushing and flossing :rolleyes: