Periodontal treatment

[Frosty66611]

I have a patch of bad gum disease around my bottom front teeth and the dentist wants me to have periodontal treatment soon which will involve cleaning under the gum. The thought of it is making me feel nauseas and I’ve also been told by a work colleague that it’s really painful.
Have any of you had it done and is it not a big deal? I have health anxiety so get in a flap about things that might cause pain. I’ll definitely get it done as don’t want the gum disease to worsen and I lose a tooth.

Yes I suffer from severe gum disease and so get this deep cleaning every 3 months. Definitely get it treated. Yes it hurts, and the deeper the pockets the more it hurts. But get it numbed first and you won’t feel a thing

I’ve had it whole mouth it’s not really sore at all had it from two different people too

I feel so squeamish thinking about them going under the gum shudder. Hopefully they can numb the area for me. Does it hurt once it’s done for a while?

ooh - sorry for derailing but can anyone tell me if this treatment has worked for them (i.e reduced the pockets). I have some deep pockets and this treatment has been mentioned as a possibility but I'm not sure if will actually help (internet research seems to suggest sometime not). I'm desperate to avoid losing teeth but not sure what to do for the best...

I had this done for my top front 6 teeth a couple of years ago. Think it was 3 treatments 2 weeks apart.
Tbh, didn’t find it too bad at all - the dentist offered to numb it if it was painful but I decided to try without and whilst slightly uncomfortable at times, it was totally bearable.
And the good news is that with proper flossing, brushing and using another brush thing - the problem hasn’t reoccurred and my pockets have reduced to normal levels.
I always had a regular flossing regime anyway, but dentist things stress might have caused the gum disease as I was suffering from bereavement.
Hope it all goes well.

I had my whole mouth done, was given LOTS of numbing injections and didn't feel a thing. Sounds like you are having a much smaller patch treated, promise it will be fine. I've actually just had 4 pockets treated without any numbing and it was fine. Well worth doing

I didn’t have injections it was fine. In the space of a year I don’t need further treatment as the pockets are more or less normal. It’s nothing to worry about

Got it done in four goes. She did each quarter mouth at a time. Got some Valium and then lots of local anesthetic. It was grand and I am usually a hysterical mess at the dentist. With upkeep you probably won’t need it done again for a long time.

I've had this treatment every 3 months for the last year on my whole mouth.

I was absolutely terrified before the first appointment but it was fine and didn't hurt at all. I had a local anaesthetic the first time as they had to trim excess gum but even with that there was no pain during or after.

My pockets were reading from 5 at the front to 9 on the back teeth and are now all down to 2 or 0 so it has worked.

I've had this done but it was never a long term solution for me. What ultimately worked was a prescription rinse/mouthwash with a strong antibacterial agent:

www.colgateprofessional.com/products/products-list/colgate-periogard-rinse-rx-only

There are generics available. The key ingredient is chlorhexidine gluconate. You take a cap full of the rinse (about 30 ml I think) twice a day, swish it around vigorously for 30 seconds then spit it out. In the US it's prescription only. It might be OTC in the UK.

My gums went from chronic bleeding and needing these deep cleanings to perfect health within a few months of starting the rinse. Every time I see the dentist or oral surgeon I get comments on how healthy my gums are.

The only downside is that the taste takes a little getting used to and you'll see some minor staining where the gum meets the tooth that is easy to remove. What makes this rinse so effective is that the chlorhexadine is absorbed by the gums and keeps killing the bacteria between rinses. It's often used after oral surgery for that reason.

Thanks everyone. Looks like most of you are saying it’s not as bad it sounds so that’s eased my mind a bit. I’ll check out that mouthwash too

It's not a doodle but I've had far worse dental treatments. Ask your oral surgeon about the rinse in case you need it prescribed.

Good luck.

I had mine done without anaesthetic and it was fine. Bit uncomfortable maybe but not unbearably so.
It worked to help reduce pockets but what worked best was chlorhexadine (corsodyl). I dipped interdental brush in it and brushed between teeth. Significant improvement after doing this for just a few weeks.

I’ve recently had it done, but the local anaesthetic didn’t make much difference. It wasn’t unbearable though. I now have, on the hygienist’s insistence, 4 types of interdental brush, a long handled small soft brush for cleaning round the edges, my usual electric toothbrush and some not very pleasant mouthwash.

It takes about ten minutes to clean my teeth now.

Thanks everyone for your additional posts. I have been very upset about my deep pockets but this gives me hope that so E things actually do work.