<p>My fiance had a deep cleaning last year, but it was his first cleaning in about six years and he was not taking good care of his teeth. He saw the dentist my family has been seeing for 20 years and we had never heard of this procedure before, so it wasn’t like he was pushing it on everybody. My fiance was SO happy with the results and didn’t experience any pain as far as I am aware, but his teeth really needed it. You didn’t need an x ray to see.</p>
<p>Dentists often use anesthetic for deep cleaning. It can be quite painful without it. Believe me, I know!</p>
<p>
A water pick getting everything out? No. Water picks don’t go below the gum line.</p>
<p>
BMWs aren’t as expensive as people make them out to be…if he had a 6,7 or M series, I’d watch him closely. ;)</p>
<p>I don’t begrudge anyone’s success, but I sure wish the orthodontist would have parked his 100k car somewhere other than right by the front door. They used to have a blinking sign welcoming the new patients and my husband would sit there counting, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000… the orthodontist made 75K today - lol</p>
<p>The $100K car could be a lease.</p>
<p>Good point, BC. Cars aren’t a good indicator of how much a person has. I don’t care that my dentist parks his Porsche in the front. I haven’t seen my orthondist’s car but I’m pretty sure it’s snazzy. If it’s their business they can park whatever they want in the front. </p>
<p>I wonder why people are so bothered by these things?</p>
<p>I feel that, in general, dentists try to “upsell” more than other professionals. I had a problem with a previous dentist who constantly wanted to fill “pre-cavities”. I am meticulous in my dental hygiene and always wondered why I had so many pre-cavities. I have had two new dentists since him and haven’t had a cavity in over 10 years. Hmmm.</p>
<p>I love my dentist now. His office is not fancy (hey, who do you think is paying for that?), he is very pleasant, does a good job, and has a great, stable office staff. I have previously had 3 gum grafts and see my periodontist once per year for regular cleanings and measurements. They say the gum recession was due to how my braces were done. Pretty sure I’m the only person on the planet who routinely got yelled at for brushing too much!</p>
<p>I’d be getting a second opinion for something expensive and painful if the OP isn’t sure.</p>
<p>Dentists are so funny. ( greedy/overcautious?)
i went to one dentist- gave me a quote of about $1,600 worth of work that I needed ( after ins) including fillings that needed to be redone, root planing…
Couldnt afford that & it scared me away from the dentist for several years.
I began doing better with my nutritional supplements especially vitamin c and flossing- & bought an soniccare toothbrush.</p>
<p>Needed to go to the dentist to get signed off before surgery. Found a different dentist who did a complete set of digital xrays and cleaned my teeth.
No cavities & no planing or scaling.
:D</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hmmm, I have heard others complain about dentists wanting to do X-rays more frequently than usually indicated by ADA guidelines ( [The</a> Selection of Patients for Dental Radiographic Examinations](<a href=“http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/MedicalImaging/MedicalX-Rays/ucm116504.htm]The”>The Selection of Patients for Dental Radiographic Examinations | FDA) ), though I have not encountered it with an older dentist practicing in an older dental office in an older building.</p>
<p>Perhaps also the apparent frequency of new dental practices advertising cosmetic dentistry is another indicator.</p>
<p>If you aren’t sure whether or not you need the deep cleaning (root planing/scaling) – ask the dentist to give you a copy of your periodontal chart. Go to another dentist for a second opinion, and ask dentist #2 for a copy of the chart that he or she does. It’s really a matter of pocket depth – 1-3mm is normal, if you have a lot of pockets that are 4mm+, then deep cleaning is usually recommended.</p>
<p>Some dentists or hygienists will use a topical anesthetic called oraqix rather than a novocaine injection. It’s a lydocaine/prolydocain gel that can be applied with a special applicator or syringe. See: [Oraqix</a> (lidocaine and prilocaine) Information from Drugs.com](<a href=“http://www.drugs.com/oraqix.html]Oraqix”>Oraqix: Side Effects, Dosage & Uses - Drugs.com) – so if you are concerned about all the shots, ask about that option. </p>
<p>I do think a waterpik is a very good tool to add to your oral hygiene routine, and they make a special tip that is supposed to be designed to reach better into the pockets – but I’ve tried it and personally feel that the regular tip is more effective for overall cleaning. I don’t think the waterpik is going to be a substitute for the deep cleaning, but I think think it is valuable as a preventative, and certainly something to be incorporated after a deep cleaning. </p>
<p>My dentist also recommended that I see a periodontist, and I was not comfortable with the recommendations after that visit-- so I also sought a second opinion there. I asked my dentist to send my x-rays – digital, so it was sent to me by email – they were sending it to the periodontist anyway, so I just asked them to cc me. With my x-rays and copies of all my charts, I was able to get a 2nd opinion just by email to another periodontist.</p>
<p>All the dental professionals were very nice about giving me copies of the records I requested – they did not question me in any way. So don’t feel shy about asking!</p>
<p>To nycgirl – I’m so sorry about what your son has been through, but gingivitis and periodontal disease are caused by bacterial infection under the gum. Your son’s compromised immune system due to the cancer treatments could also have made him more susceptible to the infection which causes gum disease, so he very well may need the extra work. </p>
<p>Because his is a special case, you might want to work with an experienced periodontist. The first thing my current periodontist did was to put me on a course of antibiotics --that will not cure the periodontitis but it reduces the inflammation and bacterial load. Your son really cannot get away with skipping the toothbrush (I’m guessing that if he doesn’t brush he probably doesn’t floss either). Dental plaque will form within 4-12 hours after brushing, and plaque hardens into tartar after about 48 hours – see <a href=“http://www.humanaonedental.com/dental-health-articles/dental-plaque.asp[/url]”>http://www.humanaonedental.com/dental-health-articles/dental-plaque.asp</a> </p>
<p>I know you’ve gone through a lot, but I have a hunch that your son probably does need this work. X-rays will show if there is any bone loss – a factor that might impact your treatment plan. </p>
<p>Here’s an article that you might find relevant, about the connection between gum disease and cancer:
[The</a> Connection between Gum Disease and Cancer | Jaklin Bezik, DDS, MDS - Periodontics & Implant Dentistry](<a href=“Home - Metro Dental Health”>Home - Metro Dental Health)
I don’t want to scare you – but the main point is that untreated gum disease could make a person more susceptible to some kind of cancers – so when you have a patient who already has battled cancer, it is all the more important to be proactive in treatment.</p>
<p>That being said, there are many dentists who do recommend unnecessary treatments. So the second opinion is important – and again, in your case, given your son’s history, I would think that you want to find a periodontist who also has a lot of experience treating patients who have had cancer. Perhaps your son’s oncologist can recommend someone.</p>
<p>Like any medical procedure I think you have to weight in all the factors. My 88 year old aunt lost a cap and because she had recently moved to a new city she had to find a new dentist that she hoped she could walk to since she no longer drives she found one…who recommended deep cleaning and a slew of other things before they would glue her cap back on. And of course “deep cleanings” are expensive and not fully covered by dental insurance. She said, thanks but no thanks and left the office with cap in baggie and started looking for someone else. The odds of some plaque below her gumline killing her is slim to none and she received regular cleaning prior to moving and she probably has bone loss in more places in her body than her teeth. This was a very “young” dentist who was probably going by the book learning from college. I told her to find an older dentist. </p>
<p>I had this done about three years ago and the periodontist told me my mouth on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the best was a 2. But I paid the grand and had my “roots scaled.” Always resented the entire thing and also switched dentists shortly after.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>When I tried this with the sketchy dentist I had they charged me $10 for the e-mail!</p>
<p>ucb, I completely believe the x-ray thing. I just looked up the ADA’s recommendation, and this is what they say, “Dental X-ray tools and techniques are designed to limit the body’s exposure to radiation and every precaution is taken to ensure that radiation exposure is As Low As Reasonable Achievable (the ALARA principle).” I’m sure annual x-rays for someone without a cavity in over ten years is ALARA. :rolleyes: I think they do the x-rays because most insurance plans will cover it 100%, so the goal is to have it done as frequent as possible.</p>
<p>A coworker was changing dentists and his dentist charged him $65 to send medical records over. I had never heard of this kind of charge before. Apparently it is legal in our state but I think that it’s mostly a courtesy thing. They really didn’t like the dentist that they had and maybe the nickel and dime thing was part of the problem.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A new dentist needs to pay off the debt from dental school, starting up a dental practice, and buying new equipment. An older dentist probably has all of this stuff paid off.</p>
<p>Like post #10, I had a healthy family friend who got a heart infection after a “deep cleaning”. She wound up with congestive heart failure and an enlarged heart so big, she had to have a mesh “sack” surgically implanted to stop it from growing. She lived about 10 years with very nasty complications before dying much too young. The point being, it is not a “riskless” procedure - risks and benefits must be weighed.</p>