Dentist checking for gum disease..

CYHSN

Just been for a checkup 2 days ago, and had inflammed gums, dentist done a lot of prodding around my gums, which I think is called Bleeding on probing.

Just wondered about other peoples experiences on this check for gum disease. Feel any pain during it? Mine hurt like hell!
Anyhoo, how much of your gums would need to prodded to get a good indication?

Gums are after swelling on one side at the back of my mouth now, right at my wisdom teeth

davo10

Probing with a special periodontal probe measures bleeding and pocket depth, indicators of periodontal (gum) disease. If you attended with gum problems and he did not do this, you may have been complaining that he did not do a comprehensive exam of the problem. As for you wanting to "punch......face", it's hard to know what to say about this, except that I would love if you were a patient of mine.

CYHSN

It felt, and it still feels like it was a bit to comprehensive for me, right along the top and bottom of my gums. Was it really necessary to go right around to every part of my gums to pierce them? Surely doing a small section would suffice?

cassi

Wouldn't you rather them be overly comprehensive than not comprehensive enough and miss something!? I've just finished my course of deep cleanings and scalings, she poked a fair bit but it wasn't overly painful. As far as Im aware you can have different levels of damage etc throughout your mouth so I'd imagine checking all over is necessary!

aujopimur

You should held his nuts and said ,we're not going to hurt each other are we.

CYHSN

cassi wrote: »

Wouldn't you rather them be overly comprehensive than not comprehensive enough and miss something!? I've just finished my course of deep cleanings and scalings, she poked a fair bit but it wasn't overly painful. As far as Im aware you can have different levels of damage etc throughout your mouth so I'd imagine checking all over is necessary!

True, I know This pain I'm having at the back of my mouth isn't helping with my posts you see Can't see how my gums cannot bleed when he prodded them as hard as he did though.

davo10

aujopimur wrote: »

You should held his nuts and said ,we're not going to hurt each other are we.

Original, none of us have ever heard that before.

OP. Probing/Pocket depths reveal where the problems are, for instance you may have had extensive bone loss around your lower left second and third molars but very little around your upper right premolars, which area needs special attention? and what would happen if the dentist only checked a couple of areas, missed the areas where the gum disease is most advanced and you ended up losing these teeth because the problem was not diagnosed?
Inflammed tissues hurt more on probing so its a necessary evil.

CYHSN

Thanks davo, maybe that's why it hurt a lot more than I though it should. My gums were never inflammed as they were, only just these last few weeks so never had been this done before in other dentists and the last checkup I had. I'll make sure from now on my gums are never inflammed when I go see the dentist

davo10

OP you may have a condition called ANUG (acute necrotising ulcerative gingivitis), its a long winded way of saying you have an acute gum infection. It can sometimes take hold when you are run down, stressed, not feeling the best and can be very painfull. We see it a lot in students around exam time and people stressed at work. This is something that can be cleared pretty quicky with a good scaling and some antibiotics, the probing is important cause it gives your dentist a baseline measurement of bone levels, if he/she checks again in 6/12 months and the pockets are deeper then it is an issue and may need more invasive cleaning/treatment but if there is no bone loss then you can put it down to an opportune infection that went away and stayed away due to your improvement in cleaning.

Oral Surgeon

Op, don't think that I've ever seen ANUG localized to the wisdom tooth area alone... I have seen many patients who's impacted wisdom tooth has flared up after a cleaning/gum manipulation, this is called pericoronitis (inflammation around the crown of a tooth)
OS

davo10

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

Op, don't think that I've ever seen ANUG localized to the wisdom tooth area alone... I have seen many patients who's impacted wisdom tooth has flared up after a cleaning/gum manipulation, this is called pericoronitis (inflammation around the crown of a tooth)
OS

Are you sure about this?, you have never seen an acute infection of the tiisues around the wisdom tooth where the papillae between the 8 and the 7 has a punched out appearence and there is bone loss?, would this area not be one of the most common areas of occurance along with the lower incisors?

Oral Surgeon

davo10 wrote: »

Are you sure about this?, you have never seen an acute infection of the tiisues around the wisdom tooth where the papillae between the 8 and the 7 has a punched out appearence and there is bone loss?, would this area not be one of the most common areas of occurance along with the lower incisors?

Infection affecting one papilla in this region is not typical of ANUG. ANUG usually affects multiple anterior teeth, sure there is lost punched out papilla but the op does not describe this. Op also does not mention if he/she has any bone loss, simply that there was pain and bleeding on probing...
Simple pericoronitis is the common one in this area...

btkm8unsl0w5r4

I think were putting words and dental conditions into the OP mouth , OP best listen to your dentists there are a myriad of things it could be some of which are mentioned above. Only somebody that has X-rays and clinical knowledge of your teeth can make a diagnosis.

CYHSN

Thanks guys, went down again today, was up most of the night with the pain, seemed to get so much worse when I try to sleep. Have been given Augmentin to take, but he said the infection might keep returning, so might have to get my Wisdom teeth extracted eventually Appreciate the help