Gum disease - private dental surgery advised

Gemma_Louise

Hi

I went to the dentist last week. I hadn't been for 3 and a half years (due to moving cities and never getting round to sorting a new dentist out, something I sincerely regret now!) so was fully expecting a good scale and polish and a trip to the hygienest.

I had been having problems with gingivitis previously but this has now escalated to periodontitis. Dentist told me this and then immediately advised me to go have private treatment for gum surgery which will cost £120 for a consultation then about £700 for gum flap surgery (if specialist says this is what is needed- I can't imagine a private dentist telling me not to bother?!) My second option is to have deep scaling with him (extra £36 on top of £21 I had already paid - not a problem) and then wait 12 weeks and then he can refer me to an NHS specialist. But he doesn't recommend this as due to waiting lists he can't guarantee when (or even IF!) I would get treatment. ( I live in central London).

I think it's a severe case (I have 20% bone loss under the gum line on a couple teeth and some areas are 5mm on probing). I should have made sure I went to the dentist before now so well aware I let this slip.

I chose to go with the deep scaling option for now and then decide in 12 weeks what to do. I just needed to buy myself some more time as dentist just bluntly told me I had this and I would have to pay for private treatment to get quicker treatment due to bone loss and expected a decision there and then whilst I was still in shock.

I just want to make sure that going private and getting this treatment is the best thing. I've stepped up my oral hygiene (got some good tips on here about how best to use interdental brushes) and bleeding has pretty much stopped - though have learnt on here that that is probably just because the surface area is now clean but I obviously still have the problem under the gums where toothbrushes don't reach.

So if treatment is needed so be it - but can it have escalated so much is 3 and a half years that I've lost so much bone? I can afford the treatment but am worried of success rates. I never had X rays at my previous dentist but maybe it was unnecessary at that point and it's escalated in the 3 and a half years of no scale and polish etc?
I've got an appointment with my previous dentist just for a second opinion - though am bit peeved I was never warned about periodontitis when he was treating me for gingivitis - if I'd known how quickly it could progress I wouldn't be in this situation!

Thanks for any advice - I'm very scared!

brook2jack

Your dentist is quite right about periodontal treatment on the NHS. It is virtually unavailable in my area and elsewhere if available the waiting lists are very long. They have explained and offered you the correct options. They cannot refer you on the NHS until you have had initial scaling and gum measurements.

The key components to treating gum disease are

cleaning , you need to make changes to your cleaning and the dentist needs to get rid of the tartar to allow you to do so

Stop smoking , if you smoke, and get good control of diabetes if you have that.

However if pockets are particularly deep or your gum disease is rapidly progressing then you may need specialist help as well.

Unfortunately the early stages of gum disease give no pain and the only way of diagnosing is it by the dentist measuring your gums and by taking x rays.

There are various types of gum disease, some are slow and take decades to develop, some are very aggressive and appear in young people and very quickly.

Gemma_Louise

Thanks for the message.

Hopefully I'm getting on top of the cleaning, I'm back at the dentist on Monday so will ask for more advice to check what I'm doing is enough. I might invest in a water flosser and do that on top of interdental brushes. I've starting brushing my teeth after lunch as well.

I don't smoke nor do I have diabetes. But am only 32 years old so maybe it's an aggressive form?

Is c £700 reasonable for private dental surgery? I think it is as I've looked on some websites and it seems to be more than that. Maybe £700 is a minimum, I'll brace myself for it to be higher than that

brook2jack

The initial stages of treatment are likely to include

Assessment , X-rays, pocket measurements etc normally £100 to £150

Some hygiene appointments £30 to £60 ish a time

After that it depends on what needs doing , most people will not need gum surgery but all will need ongoing maintenance as gum disease is never cured it is just kept under control.

Gemma_Louise

My dentist told me that the specialist may recommend gum flap surgery. Maybe he was preparing me for worst case scenario, which I do actually appreciate, I'd rather prepare myself for the worst and find out that its just regular hygiene and close monitoring is needed. If he wanted to scare me straight into better oral hygiene it worked a treat!

But he made it sound like that is the more likely option, again I think maybe because of my age.

Only one way to find out I guess!

If it is a case of regular hygiene appointments, how regularly can you have these on NHS? I would want them every 3 months to keep control on the tartar.

brook2jack

Hygiene appointments do not control tartar. Without effective cleaning tartar starts to form within 48 hours. Hygiene appointments are there to allow you to control your tartar. All periodontal treatment is aimed at allowing you to control your disease with effective cleaning.

Most people with gum disease would be in 3 month maintenance.

Gemma_Louise

Does anybody know if the PERIOblast clinic in Leeds is an option to consider? They make out they can eradicate the bacteria that are causing the issue - but is this just marketing? I'm sceptical though flabbergasted they can declare this if not! Seem to have this laser treatment in USA but again, all I can see are marketing videos/websites so I'm sceptical.

I think it would cost about £7000 from what I've researched - is that worth it? Or do I just go with the traditional method - both are only going to slow down eventual result I guess?

Toothsmith

Gemma - you've not been to the dentist for 3.5 years, and when you've gone they have found a gum issue, and now you are panicking!!!!

Gum issues happen mostly when someone - for one reason or another - neglects their teeth.

Go through the conventional recommended treatments, through the recommendation of your dentist and see where you are then. If you start googling then you are going to wind yourself up into a right state!

It is you who are going to be key in whether this becomes a problem or not. I know of no treatments that can stop gum disease in people who aren't effective at tooth cleaning or who go years between dental appointments.

By the same token, I have seen very few gum problems in people who attend regularly, and are good at cleaning their teeth. So let's see if changing the basics is effective before considering spending thousands.

sheramber

sowjanyadental wrote: »

Nice info...

Why resurrect a 2year old post?