Gum Disease - root planing or not?!

[sid2015]

Hello

I recently went to see a periodontist after noticing gaps and not having much luck with getting straight answers from dentists.

He confirmed that I have had some bone loss. He did measure all my pockets and said they are all between 1-3mm. He said this is healthy and then proceeded to clean out under the gums(whole mouth) using an ultrasonic Scaler in about 15mins. He did not use manual instruments. He told me that root planing is not needed when I asked him about it and said he is more than happy to do it if I want but it wont be money well spent as in his view it was not required.

I have been doing some reading and I have gotten very confused. My understanding is that bone loss occurs when roots are infected. So therefore should I not have my roots planed? Or is under the gum scaling enough for my shallow pockets? Or are they both the same thing?!

I don't want to have any more bone loss. Any help would be appreciated to a very stressed out individual.

Regards

Sid

i use a water pic to clean food particles out from gum pockets. As a result my gums are getting healthier.

It's a procedure which is very scary when it's described to you. I had bad gum recession and so when scaling and planing was suggested to me to remove bacteria, I was also confused and scared and I couldn't understand how it would help. But I was sedated for it and also, had full injections top and bottom, so it was ok tbh! I was so scared. I thought my teeth were all going to fall out.

I'm glad I'vve put my self in the hands of a periodontist now. I go back to her about every six months for a clean and she monitors the gum recession. She praises me for how well I am managing it. I use the special toothbrushes (much smaller than I was used to) and floss twice a day and use the tooth paste she gives me.

My advice would be to have the procedure and then go back to the periodontist as often as recommended.

I saw two periodontists before I decided which to go with. YOu could do that. then you could see if their advice matched.

Pockets of 3mm don't require root planing.

Noarmaninopunani is a dentist on herewith special powers around gums. Say her name 3 times and she might appear!!

Mrsmortonis right, current practise is not to carry out root planing, or root surface debridement in pockets 3mm or less. It can cause unnecessary damage. Oral hygiene is the way to go. Brushing, flossing and inter proximal brushing. TePe brushes are magic!