Periodontitis 

Emily, I encourage you when you go in to ask. Ask to see your pocket charting. Ask to see your X-rays. Ask how much bleeding you have. You have every right to know what state of health your mouth is in. Don’t hesitate to reach out again with any questions 🤗😷

So if you don't mind me asking, how is it going with your teeth now a year later? Still using your electric toothbrush and waterpik? Do you feel more encouraged? I just had my first deep cleaning yesterday. Other side of mouth in 3 wks.

Im sorry. There are some excellent hidden gems out there. Ask anyone and everyone you know and read all the reviews. Hope you find a great dentist 🦷 😷

Thank you for the kind words. And I’m so glad you all have obtained consistent habits for your dental health!! 😷 🦷

Oh and I just ordered the Aquarius Waterpik based on your info. I hadn't even considered getting a waterpik or any waterjet cleaning system but I've been trainwrecking on dental videos all morning after my 1st ever deep cleaning at the dentist yesterday. I bought a Philips Sonicare toothbrush at Costco yesterday on the way home. That sonicare was recommended by my dentist but I don't think he mentioned a waterpik at all. The deepest pockets I have are 6's, others 5 or less. So it sounds like I'll use regular flossing, also the waterpik, also the sonicare toothbrush. Then there's that rubbertip gum stimulator. They also gave me a chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse. I had been using "Xyli-White" a mouthwash with neem, tea tree oil, and xylitol so I still use that separately. So much, but whatever it takes at this point. Enough taking my dental health for granted.

I will speak with my doctors about pinhole versus traditional grafting. Anything specific you want answered? It mostly the difference between the two? And which yields the better result?

@@holistichygiene yep, things like if it helps at all or will gums recede anyway after certain time. And the difference between the procedures. I read lots of good things about pinhole, but most come from clinics who market their services. Maybe it really deserves those words and high prices.

Truth, I have never heard the term RSI until you mentioned this article. With that being said, scaling and root planning was the old school method. The dental profession, years ago, taught all professionals the root surface of the teeth needed to be smoothed while scaling removing biofilm, plaque, tartar, and bacteria. It would go hand in hand with the procedure. Time and research has proven, there is no need to smooth the root surface removing any part of the dentin/cementum. We still use the term scaling and root planning (SRP) to help patients differentiate between a prophy and periodontal therapy. Educators are now using the term periodontal therapy, which is one I use, because it is therapy. It’s not only mechanical removal of all biofilm with hard and soft deposits, it goes hand in hand with educating the patient on homecare and other medical conditions they suffer from as well as any medications a person is taking. This includes infection in the mouth and it’s effects throughout the body. The procedure would feel the same to a patient. We still use the same instruments but we know the difference between our scaling technique. My suggestion, if you need scaling and root planning, is find a dental practice or periodontitis that uses a periodontal endoscope. This procedure uses a small fiber optic camera, that is roughly the size of our periodontal probe, allowing the clinician to see in the periodontal pocket. It magnifies the tooth 48 times. This allows us to see all the calculus, biofilm, and plaque so clearly. We are able to remove every piece of it without any damage to the root surface. It requires local anesthetic, which is also required with scaling and root planning. The endoscope allows us to see, no guessing if we removed all the infection. We get excellent results equal to, if not better than having osseous surgery. This is recommended for any patient that has 6mm periodontal pocketing or higher. Even if the 6mm are on 4-6 teeth. Any skilled hygienist can perform scaling and root planning successfully with 2-5mm periodontal pocketing throughout the mouth. Once a patient has higher readings than 5mm, removing all the calculus in those periodontal pockets becomes very difficult with the limited ability we have without being able to see the entire surface. The root surfaces in a 6mm pocket and higher are covered by gum tissue but able to be accessed with our instruments. If you watch the periodontal pocket charting, this makes more sense. I hope this helps 😷

I think massaging the gum tissue is an excellent thing to do! Very good for the tissue. Promotes blood flow 👍🏼😷

You can absolutely do braces…BUT your perio disease needs to be stable. Healthy mouth. Your dentist and orthodontist should be communicating with each other and both deciding together when the is best time to start your ortho treatment

Dry brushing is taking any toothbrush and gently brushing your teeth without toothpaste. You can do it anytime you want. You can do it any time if the day. It’s up to you. If you want to do this after meals, waiting the 30 minutes is an excellent idea to allow the pH to balance before setting the bristles to the teeth. The action of brushing disrupts bacteria that are constantly growing in our mouthes and around our teeth. So doing this helps disrupt the process and prevents an over growth of bacteria, which causes gingivitis, periodontitis, and cavities🦷😷

The pik pocket tip is not indicated for any perio pocket lower than 7mm. Use the standard tip. Start at low pressure, and try to increase it one number a day until you reach the 6/7. If you need to go every other day, then turn up the pressure every other day until you get to a 6/7. The waterpik causes zero damage to the gums. It is removing bacteria that cause damage to the gums. 😷

@@holistichygiene I have braces, can I use the ortho tip instead of the standard one for cleaning the braces and the gumlines at the same time? Or do i need to use them separately? Also does braces affect the healing process of my gum?

Great questions! Yes, the ortho tip will do the job for you. No need to use the standard and the ortho tip. The ortho tip will be your best option while in braces. And yes, being in ortho can cause delay in gum tissue healing. It’s from the teeth moving. 😷

@@holistichygiene so does it mean I can still heal but it's just slower? Because I just got my braces a month ago. Should I take a break from braces instead?

Yes it does mean you will have slower healing. And I cannot say to stop in the braces. You will need to discuss your concerns with your dentist and your orthodontist. They can work together to get you the best outcome. Consistent brushing and flossing makes a HUGE difference in keeping yourself healthy with or without braces

I am in Las Vegas.

@@holistichygiene never heard or seen what you showed in water flossing you are passionate about your job, love that! thank you for sharing 🥰hygienist should be more open like you, they should be showing every detail of every tool that you might need, all they ask is are you brushing regularly and flossing…. REALLY!! No I just like living without doing that….that phrase is very depressing needs to be approached in a different way I’m not 5. I was hoping you were closer 😕 I’m just a hop skip and a jump away lol but your not local everyone is alway far ☹️Thank you for sharing. It’s just weird I have to go to this extent to find info, when I pay to go and get treated ….that’s how I found you. Bless you for sharing.

Thank you for the kind words. And yes, you are human as are we. Glad your here and glad I can help from afar 😷

@@holistichygiene Wish it was easier to get a appointment in Vegas. I possibly have this for one tooth. It’s either a 2 month wait across town or some don’t take insurance (Henderson perio). Seems like I’m going in circles. Btw, found your videos when searching for “waterpik how to”. Very nicely detailed. Is perioscopy a laser treatment?