Has anyone ever gone to a periodontist? I'm going on Friday, 3 of the teeth on my left side have receding gums. The dentist asked me to show him how I floss on that side and apparently I have been doing it wrong forever. I think I will have to get some grafts sewn on or something....has anyone ever experienced this before?

[Edited on January 9, 2008 at 12:34 PM. Reason : 3]

1/9/2008 12:33:09 PM

I'm surprised that your dentist didn't go straight to "You're going to have to have laser surgery to get that fixed. It's a little pricey but really, isn't it worth it?"

1/9/2008 12:53:19 PM

are you being sarcastic? the dentist referred me to someone outside his practice, so i don't think he will benefit monetarily from it....

he mentioned possibly needing a tissue graft, but nothing about laser surgery

1/9/2008 12:59:29 PM

you are going to get your gums grafted, its gonna look good for a few. then its just gonna recede back to where it was.

i wouldnt do it. is if affecting anything in your mouth? can you see it when you smile? if not, dont worry about it. and if its cosmetic, insurance may not cover.

its easy to stop the recession, but its not easy to fix it.

[Edited on January 9, 2008 at 1:05 PM. Reason : ]

1/9/2008 1:01:31 PM

i don't think it's affecting anything in my mouth yet...you can't see it when i smile because it is 3 of the teeth in the back. even when i have been looking at it, i don't think that the teeth look that bad...


so the grafting really doesn't last? is that true for all cases? my dental insurance would pay for 80% of it, but still, i guess it could be a lot of money out of pocket....

1/9/2008 1:07:29 PM

thats just what i have heard.

now you might want to ask your dentist or other dentist, maybe some oral surgeons if its really necessary and how long it will last.

i mean honestly, there is no real reason why you should get this done.

your dentist works off of referrals, yeah he isnt getting paid for this, but he is getting on the good side of whoever he refers you to.

now im no expert but i heard it first hand from a surgeon (he was telling another patient) that its not really something you want to do, im not saying its a gimmick, but its hard to get something that is not naturally there to stick to your teeth.

when i was in middle school i was leaning against the bus window looking out, i kinda had my mouth where the window tracks were and my friend bumped my head and my two front teeth slid down the metal and ripped my gums. immediately i went to the dentist. they couldnt do much. my gums are a bit high, but i have 0 problems. and you can see it really when i smile because when i do smile i dont show all my two front teeth.

[Edited on January 9, 2008 at 1:27 PM. Reason : ]

1/9/2008 1:24:32 PM

thanks for your input....i never really had thought about the plausibility of the graft not taking

i guess it wont hurt to go for my consult since my insurance pays for that, i just don't want to get bamboozled with health scares and threats while i am there....

1/9/2008 1:29:02 PM

I had a gum graft in high school from brushing too hard. IT SUCKS. Whatever you do, do not go to the doctor in Preston Corners in Cary. I had a terrible experience there.

When I had my graft done, They took a piece of gum from the roof of my mouth. It is painful. They are supposed to give you a retainer to cover the hole, but my doctor forgot. So even drinking caused huge amounts of pain. Also He did not give me enough novacaine when he made the initial cut in the roof of my mouth.

Safe to say I was not happy. Honestly if I had to do it over again, I would do anything else. It could have just been my doctor but it sucked big time.

1/9/2008 1:31:17 PM

Wait, are you saying that you would do it again, or you wouldn't?


I'm going to a doctor in Atlanta, so no worries about that Preston Corners place

1/9/2008 1:44:03 PM

^X7 I was being serious. Not trying to be the devil's advocate (but failing miserably), I'm sure there could be some kick backs to your dentist for the referral.

1/9/2008 1:50:34 PM

No I get what you mean and I agree

I just don't want to possibly mess up my teeth or have them fall out. My parents paid enough for them when I had braces. But I also don't want to be scammed....ugh!

1/9/2008 1:52:18 PM

you need to go talk to some other perios or surgeons that do the graft.

find the negatives of not getting it done..

your problem is flossing too hard, something that can be prevented, some people its a disease and it keeps eating away their gums. so im thinking you are in the clear, but again get some real advice.

1/9/2008 2:01:05 PM

i've been being more mindful of how i floss now....so the receding could stop with my new and improved flossing technique?

1/9/2008 2:11:17 PM

what did the dentist say about it? did he give you a real reason why you should have the graft done?

1/9/2008 2:30:18 PM

well, he came in after i got my teeth cleaning and did the usual quick poking around. i can't remember the term he used to describe my teeth, but he got some floss and made me show him how i floss on that side of my mouth...i guess i angle it differently because i'm right-handed, i don't know. he said i was pulling on the gums or something, and then he showed me in the mirror what he was talking about. then he wrote me a referral form to see a periodontist.

he did not give me a reason to not have it done.

i mean, i can see what he means, there is a slight difference in the shape of my gums on those teeth between the left side and the right side of my mouth, i just don't know if it really necessitates this surgical grafting.....

[Edited on January 9, 2008 at 2:35 PM. Reason : adsf]

1/9/2008 2:35:07 PM

As long as there's diseased tissue around there, stopping the progression is going to be tough...and according to some dental sites, impossible

What kind of numbers are you getting when they measure the depth? (answer not required publicly)

[Edited on January 9, 2008 at 2:39 PM. Reason : .]

1/9/2008 2:37:02 PM

he didn't tell me the numbers....

1/9/2008 2:45:18 PM

the thing is, if you don't take action to stop the recession and try to reverse it a little, it will continue...and there's no pain involved. i work at a dental office, and it's really sad to see some of the people who come in around my age who had no idea that they were in as bad of shape as they are because it never hurt...and the general dds doesn't get a kickback for the referral, other than the fact that he wants to keep his patients happy and in capable hands so they keep coming to him for their general work.

1/9/2008 9:52:13 PM

How hard were you flossing? Just wondering!?

1/10/2008 12:50:33 AM

I believe it was the angle at which i was flossing more than how hard....

1/10/2008 1:19:52 PM