My dentist recommends Deep Cleaning.... Will I cry like a newborn baby? (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Alexander]

Has anyone ever had deep cleaning from their dentist to treat early periodontal disease? When my dentist recommended this today, I was a little surprised as I take good care of my teeth (obviously not good enough). My wife said that it was painful which scares me. From those of you who have had it, what do I have to look forward to? If very painful, can I ask to be "put under" w/ a knock out anesthesia?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

ou ill ot e ble o cream ike a aby ause is ingers ill e n uor outh.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Is that where they spray the high-pressure water between your teeth and gums?


I'd take that over the steel pike they like to use......

 

[aaron campbell]

I had root planning done this year. I'm a big puss when it comes to mouth pain, but this procedure was no big deal.They numb the hell out of your mouth. They do 1-2 quadrants a time spread over a couple visits. My gums are in great shape now. I highly recommend getting it done asap before they want to do gum surgery.

 

[LDfan]

Nothing could be as bad as the Root Canal I went through last spring. I've never experienced anything as painful as that in my life! The tooth root was actually infected. It was horrible.


Jeff

 

[Joel...Lane]

I had the deep cleaning procedure done just a few weeks ago. While not in my top ten fun things to do, it really wasn't that bad.

If they have to clean the whole mouth, which they probably will, it will take two sessions. The reason is because, obviously, they have to numb you up. You can only numb one side at a time. As my dentist pointed out, if they numbed the entire mouth at once, I'd chew through my tongue and wouldn't feel a thing!

The procedure itself was a breeze. They do use their nice sharp pointy tools, but that's the only way to scrape away the tartar and plaque buildups. I never felt a thing...but that's because of the shots. Those were the worst part of the whole thing.

They do numb you up pretty good with the creamy stuff before they stick you, but it'll take at least two shots to get you good and numb. They gave me four

Oddly enough, on both visits I had two different dentists administer the shots. The first dentist was much better because he held onto my mouth with his thumb inside my mouth and his index finger outside on my cheek and rocked / shook / jerked my mouth back and forth while he gave me the shots. Sounds weird I know. Because of that, I didn't' feel the shots. The second dentist didn't do that and it hurt like hell. So when you go in, suggest that to the doctor. It does make a difference.

On a slightly related note, the dental hygienist who did the cleaning, (the dentist only gives the shots) asked if I use tartar control toothpaste or tartar control mouthwash. I said yes, and she said to stop using it. She said the teeth of all of her patients who use it are in worse shape than people who don't. Something about the ingredients damaging the gums.

You should also be given a bottle of Periowash (think that's the right name). It's just fluoride that you mix with water and rinse with everyday. It's supposed to tighten up the gums.

They gave me a prescription for some pain pills but once the novacaine wore off I didn't even need them.

One more thing, make sure you eat before you go because you won't be able to chew for a few hours after it's over.

Good luck, it'll be over before you know it!

 

[Citizen87645]

I haven't had the deep cleaning but after my braces were removed I had the "fiberotomy" where the fibers under the gum line are severed so the teeth don't get pulled back to the old position. I got numbed up for that and the worst part was actually the sound. Once the stuff wore off it mostly felt like I had mildly burned my mouth with hot coffee.

 

[Randy Tennison]

I had a root canal go bad, and I had a build up of infection inside the dead tooth. Caused all kinds of problems, and only after a year of treatments has it gotten better. When my new dentist took the crown off, and opened up the root, he said infection (re puss) sprayed out of the hole in the tooth.

After reading about "toxic teeth", I'm not sure I ever want another root canal. I thought back, and my arthritis started up right after the initial root canal.

 

[Chris Hovanic]

Sounds like the same thing I experienced. I talked to a lady once in one of my community schools computer classes who experienced the same thing and said the pain was worse than child birth.

 

[StephenA]

This thread reminds me of what my mom had to go through with her teeth. My mom had to have her gums cut to expose more of her teeth due to injuries from a car crash years before that made it hard for her to keep her teeth clean. They sewed the remaining gums and she was in severe pain and could hardly eat or drink for a long time. They had to do the top and bottom/left and right seperately due to the extensive procedures and pain.

 

[Drew Bethel]

I've had three root canals and a deep cleaning. Let me tell you, I'll take a root canal any day of the damn week.

You may want to get a second opinion though. My former dentist insisted on this procedure so we did the upper mouth. I changed employers, got routine cleanings from several other dentists and the topic has never came up.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I got the deep cleaning done about 2 years ago, but I don't remember much about it, except getting numbed for it, but I'm not too squeamish about the pain as long as it's manageable.

 

[Chu Gai]

Might also want to go to a periodontist to see if more aggressive procedures are needed. I can't wait till they come up with stem cells to implant in gums. As to the other part of your question, I predict pain...

[c] [/c]

 

[Kevin Alexander]

I'm scared now.:frowning:

 

[Gary->dee]

A friend of mind had the deep cleaning procedure a few months ago. He claimed it didn't hurt because they numbed the area of treatment. He showed me his gums and they looked bruised but he seemed fine. We smoked a blunt together after he got home from the dentist.

I might look into the deep cleaning procedure before I leave for Europe. I have a couple of areas where my gums have receeded from years of not properly flossing and brushing. I fear I might need to have some surgery to move some gum to those problem areas. It might tie together to getting the deep cleaning.

 

[Tim Hoover]

I've had a root planing as well...only I didn't get Novocaine, I got nitrous

To tell you the truth, I didn't think it was all that big a deal at all. Of course, this might be because they really loaded me up w/ the gas and I was stoned out of my gourd. I remember a few times when it hurt, but nothing unmanageable by any stretch.

 

[Bryan X]

I had it done a couple years ago w/out any anesthesia and it wasn't that bad.

However, I'm sure it's different for every person.

 

[Chet_F]

I've had 2 root canals, my teeth wired in and just recently a bone graft-that was painful.

 

[Scott Tucker]

Had it done recently, and it was no big deal. Felt stupid for being afraid to go to the dentist for 15 years. Now i go every 6 months for routine cleanings. It's no big deal.

Scott

 

[Stan]

Many differing opinions on the subject, depends a lot on the person, but I must admit mine was terribly painful. And this comes from a person who has most dental work done without any anesthesia. It has always been easier to go through five seconds of pain when they get near the nerve than go through two or three days of throbbing, aching pain from the novocaine injection. The actual shot was always to worst part for me. And needles don't even bother me, I love to watch when my doctor takes blood, or when they insert the needle when I donate blood, but that jab in the jaw muscles and in the roof of your mouth are awful.

My current dentist is actually very good and gives absolutely painless shots that I literally don't even feel.

But about ten years ago, after a good 5-6 years of not going to the dentist, I needed the root planing procedure. It was done in quadrants, and mine took four visits, upper left, upper right...and it was hell. Once the novocaine wore off, I felt like somebody had cleaned my teeth with a rusty fishhook. If you have any way to do it, get some Vicodin or something before the procedure starts, you'll feel much better.

Now that I've had it done, I've had my teeth cleaned every 4-6 months for the last ten years with no problems. No novocaine, and if I'm lucky sometimes they'll use the ultrasonic tools, so I'm actually in and out within about 15 minutes.

Don't mean to scare you, but the deed root planing procedure is pretty major and you'll feel it for a while.

But no matter how negative my posting seems, please do it. If you want to keep your teeth, it's very necessary. And be sure to follow up with regular cleanings, flossing, etc. It really makes a difference, you just have to break through that first barrier.

And once it's done, it's done. You'll never need it again as long as you do the followup work.

Good luck.