Is scaling (deep gum and root cleaning) the dental equivalent of car dealers’ “clear coat,” “fabric protection,” or “undercoating,” add-ons?
Our dentist of 40+ years recently retired. Mrs. Keno goes to dentist recommended by our old dentist. Immediately she’s told she has gum disease and needs ‘scaling’. Mrs. Keno’s family has bad teeth so she buys in, $1,600. Seems to be okay with the results thus far but no real way to tell if it’s making a difference in dental health…
For insurance reasons, I made an appointment with a different dentist for my semi-annual cleaning. Upon arrival the dental tech takes X-rays then the dentist comes in and starts taking close-up pictures of my teeth and gums. Shortly thereafter he shows the pictures of my teeth and gums on a big LCD screen, pointing out where I have problems and announces I have gum disease. Not having ever seen my teeth in such detail before, I have no idea if what I’m seeing is good or bad. He tells me his office will contact my insurance for OK to do the scaling and has me set up an appointment for next month.
Just got a letter from the insurance company saying okay to do the procedure, subject to “contractual limitations, exclusions” etc. so I may be on the hook for some costs.
Apparently this procedure is legit (insurance approval) but how can you tell if you need it done? Does the fact we’re in our early 70’s and never had scaling before just mean we were/are overdue? Our old dentist never said anything about gum disease, nor have I had any dental problems.
have you been going in for a cleaning every 6 months? If so then I think this deep cleaning is not typical . I heard of people having this done after not going in for regular visits.
To be legitimate the dentist (or a hygienist) should have done probing. That measures how deep the pockets are around each tooth. Usually three probes are done per tooth. If you have pockets of 4 or more millimeters it indicates potential gum disease. My dentist recommends scaling at that point, especially if there are deeper pockets.
If scaling works it’s prophylactic, i.e. it prevents problems. That does make it hard to evaluate effectiveness.
Since there are objective numbers involved, your wife can talk to her dentist about what her numbers are and where. Scaling is usually done in quarters (top left and right, bottom left and right) so full mouth treatment may not be needed. She can also have progress monitored to see whether the pockets go down after treatment. My dentist wants me to use a water pik every day to keep the gums healthy; if your wife isn’t doing something for her teeth that might create problems even with scaling.