Deep Cleaning

IntoTheAshtray

After being diagnosed with gum disease, I went through my first bout of deep cleaning on Tuesday. It was one of the lower quadrants and although it felt a little odd, it was relatively painless and the teeth there look a lot better now. I'll be going every week for the next three weeks to get it all done. Also, I have begun brushing 3 times a day, mouthwashing twice, and - though I'm really struggling to operate it correctly - I have begun flossing, too. The dentist said that there was no mobility in my middle lower teeth, so that was a sign that there wasn't a whole lot of bone loss. I've cut out fizzy drinks and sweets, and I've limited my snacking. If I keep at this, and go back regularly, should I be okay? I'm only 23 and the thought of losing my teeth terrifies me. Also, as well as the brushing/flossing/washing, is there anything else I can do to improve and maintain my teeth? Are waterpiks useful? Been seriously stressed out in recent weeks and I'm determined to fight this as best as I can. Any hep/advice would be really greatly appreciated.

Encorus

I would highly recommend using inter-dental brushes; they are more effective than floss. They have measurements so you need to find the right one or ones (as the space between different teeth might vary) for you. I use the Tepe ones. I tried generic ones but they weren't as good. I can't do without them now, and rarely ever floss. I do also use a waterpik (the Braun/Oral B one) though my periodontist claim it's of limited health. I still think, though, that it helps to flush out food debris and also probably manages to clean a bit under the gum line.

Regarding your bone loss level; haven't the dentist taken an x-ray? He should. Also, if your dentist is not a qualified periodontist, I would urge you to seek one, as periodontists are the ones qualified to deal with gum and periodontal tissue problems.

IntoTheAshtray

Encorus wrote: »

I would highly recommend using inter-dental brushes; they are more effective than floss. They have measurements so you need to find the right one or ones (as the space between different teeth might vary) for you. I use the Tepe ones. I tried generic ones but they weren't as good. I can't do without them now, and rarely ever floss. I do also use a waterpik (the Braun/Oral B one) though my periodontist claim it's of limited health. I still think, though, that it helps to flush out food debris and also probably manages to clean a bit under the gum line.

Regarding your bone loss level; haven't the dentist taken an x-ray? He should. Also, if your dentist is not a qualified periodontist, I would urge you to seek one, as periodontists are the ones qualified to deal with gum and periodontal tissue problems.

I'll take the above advice on board, cheers.

Re: my dentist - yes, he tool an x-ray. However, he said sometimes it's tough to measure bone loss in the lower middle region via x-ray. He also said that my disease is very treatable and that if he couldn't manage it he would have referred me to a periodontist: is this standard, no?

Oral Surgeon

IntoTheAshtray wrote: »

I'll take the above advice on board, cheers.

Re: He also said that my disease is very treatable and that if he couldn't manage it he would have referred me to a periodontist: is this standard, no?

Sure is, not everyone needs to see a periodontist regarding their gum disease.... Very difficult or very aggressive cases should be referred but your own dentist is more than capable of sorting out regular gum disease...

OS

coylemj

Encorus wrote: »

I would highly recommend using inter-dental brushes; they are more effective than floss. They have measurements so you need to find the right one or ones (as the space between different teeth might vary) for you. I use the Tepe ones. I tried generic ones but they weren't as good. I can't do without them now, and rarely ever floss.

+1 I use the Tepe brushes every night and my dentist told me on the last visit that I do not need to floss. On the most recent and previous visits he tested some gaps using a special floss which was a band about 3m wide rather than a thread, he said there was nothing between my teeth so whatever I was doing was effective and I shouldn't bother flossing.

You can buy a mixed bag of Tepe brushes i.e. one of each colour, this allows you to figure out which colour (width) to use for each interdental gap. Use a tiny amount of plain toothpaste on the Tepe brush and do every gap after you've done your main brush.

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try not to bend the tepe brush, once the bend comes in it, it becomes very soft and difficult to use. Also there are much cheaper generic brushes in tescos that doe the exact same job at a fraction of the price.

coylemj

Terry Fancy Stratosphere wrote: »

try not to bend the tepe brush, once the bend comes in it, it becomes very soft and difficult to use.

they're positively dangerous if bent, unless it's brand new I'll often dump one if I manage to bend it.

Terry Fancy Stratosphere wrote: »

Also there are much cheaper generic brushes in tescos that doe the exact same job at a fraction of the price.

Boots sell rebranded Tepe brushes and Dunnes are now selling a new line, they're made in India. I check current prices and buy Tepe in bulk from either of these .....

http://www.freshbreathonline.co.uk/
http://www.toothbrushdirect.co.uk/

CyberJuice

i would like to use these interdental brushes too so i went and bought a pack from the local chemist.

i tried using them but they gave me pain as the metal in the brush was reacting with the metal in my fillings,so now im just using floss

is there any interdental tepe brushes that come with the metal in them or am i just gonna have to do without them?

coylemj

CyberJuice wrote: »

i would like to use these interdental brushes too so i went and bought a pack from the local chemist.

i tried using them but they gave me pain as the metal in the brush was reacting with the metal in my fillings,so now im just using floss

is there any interdental tepe brushes that come with the metal in them or am i just gonna have to do without them?

You shouldn't touch a filling when using them, they go through the gaps in your teeth so should never come into contact with fillings and if you're careful you should never touch your gums with the metal tips either.

It takes a bit of practice to perfect the technique, stick at it.

Encorus

CyberJuice wrote: »

i would like to use these interdental brushes too so i went and bought a pack from the local chemist.

i tried using them but they gave me pain as the metal in the brush was reacting with the metal in my fillings,so now im just using floss

is there any interdental tepe brushes that come with the metal in them or am i just gonna have to do without them?

First of all, if you bought the Tepe type, then the metal wire is coated with plastic so it won't hurt your dental work. Second, it seems that you are doing something wrong. Please check these videos on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbTegGijDBo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIPjWalnvbI

Also, make sure you got the right size(s) for your teeth. You should never force the interdental brush between the teeth, it should easily slide through.

achieve

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

Sure is, not everyone needs to see a periodontist regarding their gum disease.... Very difficult or very aggressive cases should be referred but your own dentist is more than capable of sorting out regular gum disease...

OS

About 6 years ago I went to a new dentist as it had been a number of years since I had been and I was embarrased to go back to my original dentist. As things worked out, I only needed a couple of fillings replaced, but the dentist told me that I had bad gum disease and recommended that I go see a periodontist. €150 for first consultation and then €450 to treat one quadrant. During this procedure the periodontist pulled 2 teeth in order to give the underlying bone a better chance to support the other surrounding teeth. Thus I arrived home with 2 healthy teeth in my pocket - no decay or fillings.

I'm afraid that I just couldn't get my head around removing healthy teeth. Plus just beside the 2 he pulled, there is a "dodgy" tooth that I can't believe has lasted the past 20 years since it got a major filling. Too top things off I then ended up getting an infection after this treatment and was in serious pain for a couple of weeks, which required antibiotics and strong pain killers.

Needless to say I wasn't too happy at the prospect of going back for rounds 2, 3 & 4. Periodontist was going to remove 8 teeth in total (all good teeth). So I went back to my dentist asking if he could just carry out some deep cleaning, but he insisted I go back to periodontist.

I didn't go back to either, but now 6 years later I picked up the courage to see another new dentist. She said, yeah, I do have periodontal disease but reckoned that with the help of a good hygenist, we could slow down / prevent the progression of the disease.

I'm just after having my second round of deep cleaning with my new hygenist today. So far it's going fine, and at €65 per sessssion is much cheaper than the periodontist @ €450. Oh, why didn't I find my new dentist all those years ago.

I am sure that there are excllent periodontists out there, but be aware!