periodontal root planing???? Experiences?

[bailey]

Anyone have this procedure done? Was it done by a periodontist or your regular dentist? Did they have their hygienist do the procedure? Was it painful?

Went to a new dentist yesterday and this is what she wants to have done along with crowns, root canals, etc that come to a whopping $7000. I go to the dentist every 6 months, so how I can go from not needing anything 6 months ago to all this makes me suspicious. Her hygienist will be doing the planing....for $252.00 a quadrant, seems like the work should be done by the dentist. Is this normal?

 

[Timeshare Von]

I can't comment on the planing, although my younger sister did have it done many years ago.

I will say, re: dentists . . . I once went to a new dds after having been "away" for a few years. I was young and w/o insurance and my teeth were in generally good shape. I ended up having a bad tooth that landed me into the dentist, now with insurance. For this bad tooth, he wanted to do a root canal, crown and a bunch of other stuff to the tune of $1,500. (This was in the early 1980's!)

I said "no thanks" and went to my old former family dds, an hour away. He said it was a bad cavity but no need for all that other stuff. He took care of it, and so did my insurance 100%.

Twenty years later, that tooth did need a root canal and crown . . . but even in 2003 it wasn't anywhere need the $1,500 of the 1980's.

You may want to get a second opinion is what I'm trying to say here. Sometimes, folks in the medical profession (not just DDS's) will take advantage if they see $$$.

 

[wackymother]

I've had planing done, about 15 years ago. I had a great dentist and the idea was that a planing would hold off the need for more intensive periodontal work, since I had gum problems.

The dentist himself did the planing, quadrant by quadrant. I remember it being like a super-duper cleaning, with novocaine. It must have worked because since then I haven't had another planing, and while my gums are not great, I haven't needed any more periodontal work. I don't remember how much it cost b/c it was mostly covered by insurance.

That said, I absolutely agree that you need a second and possibly a third opinion.

It is indeed very hard to believe that you went from needing NOTHING six months ago to needing $7,000 in work RIGHT NOW. I have plenty of "trouble spots" that bear watching by my dentist, but the idea that everything would fall apart all at once is very suspicious.

 

[EZ-ED]

I would be very suspicious of your "new" dentist as it does not sound like she has your best interest considered.

If Novocaine is used it will have to be administered by the dentist and then I imagine that a hygienist would be able to do the actual work although after the original estimate I think I would get a second opinion on this work also.

I just returned from a hygienist cleaning and dental checkup yesterday. The hygienist commented that she thought the two new implants I had done in January looked good but the dentist was not happy to hear that I had them done in Mexico for less than half what he was going to charge. While I did wind up paying a little over $7,000 (what the local dentist was going to charge) less than half that amount went to the Mexican dentist and the rest went to 3 weeks in Palm Springs "recovering" and there was not that much to recover from. I'll have cleanings and fillings done locally but if it's major I am heading for Los Algodones with a timeshare stay in the Palm Springs area.

 

[chellej]

I had planing done in January and I ave been misearable ever since. The hygenist did it. They evaluated my gums for pockets and I had 2 problem areas near old crowns. They then implanted the antibiotics after planing.

I had a crown fall off and had o have a crown lengthening done. The exposed tooth was not bothering me until they put the new crown on. At the same time, I had a broken tooth on the other side they put a crown on.

Bottom line was I needed some work done but nothing was bothering me - since I have had it done I have been in real pain and that is not counting the several thousnd dollars it cost.

I would think hard about it

 

[goaliemn]

I had my roots planed about 3 years ago.. I hadn't been to a dentist in about 16 years. I had one tooth that had a crack in the top (it was visible, discolored, and why I went in) so I had a crown put on it. The planing, I did have done. I had pockets in my gums, like chellej did, but they did go away after about a year. They had me come in 3 times a year for 2 years, but now everythign is back to normal.

Was it painful? get novocane. I did and I'm glad I did. Its uncomfortable, but didn't have any major pain. I haven't had any ill effects from it. I know my teeth look/feel better, and there have been visible differences in the roots, from what I've seen on the xrays. I had one other crown put on since then, but considering I hadn't been to a dentist in so many years, I'm surprised there wasn't more needed.

I went to this dentist based on a recommendation of a coworker, and I was also terrified of dentists. This one was nice and very soothing atmosphere.

 

[splick]

Consider yourself lucky that you found a dentist who examined your gums. Too often they just look at the teeth and ignore the gums and bone. This is the foundation for your teeth. See what Whoopi Goldberg had to say on The View. Do a search on You Tube ("Whoopi Goldberg and gums"). After listening to what she had to say, you may reconsider your skepticism about the importance of this treatment. By the way, a good hygienist probably does a better job on this than the dentist does.

 

[stmartinfan]

I had the planing done twice - once about 20 years ago and then about 9 months ago. I was developing "pockets" or spaces along the gum line that weren't adhering correctly to the teeth. In both instances, I had it done after having been a patient of the dentist for several years, and his having monitored and regularly measured the status of the gum tissue.

My dental hygenist uses a small probe that slides between the teeth and gum to measure if there is space between them. She records this measurement for my teeth at every visit so she can monitor if there is any change. Most recently, I'd had a couple of pockets that had been growing and we couldn't seem to get them to close up through my care and her cleanings. The planing did the trick and my gums are significantly better again now. The first time, I had a similar situation and the planing worked then too.

The hygenist in my office did the entire procedure, including the novacaine. She's a real pro so I wouldn't even expect the dentist to do this. It wasn't painful, just sort of annoying.

It's hard to know with a new dentist what's essential. I do know gum disease is a real problem in causing people to loose their teeth, and since I seem to be prone to gum issues, I'm glad to do a treatment that helps fix the problem.