gum surgery on pockets

[angel123]

Hi,

Just looking for some input/positive encouragement.

Been on a long journey of trying to get back to good oral health. Have been going to dentist 6 monthly and had hygienist cleaning teeth etc.. From not being able to go as phobic go to appointments, sit in chair etc. That's the good news... Have an NHS dentist and have been paying for hygienist. I use interdental brushes, a good toothbrush but don't floss as much as I should.

Unfortunately the pockets I have are not really improving so I was referred to a periodontist.

I'm in the UK

Have been advised on removal of 3 wisdom teeth and gum surgery to reduce the pockets. This would take 4-5 hours and cost £3000 + - there is some level one mobility of teeth

On top of this conscious sedation would be another £1200.

It's all daunting - cost and procedure wise. I'm wondering whether to do without the sedation - would this be bearable?? I'm ok with pain once I get there but that's a LONG time

They are saying doing by quadrants not as effective

I suppose I'm looking for some sort of encouragement that it would be worth it. The pockets are there and clearly causing damage but I have no pain, bleeding or anything- it's hidden - but I know long term the outlook is not good.

I'm struggling also as I still hate my teeth and am phobic looking at them and this isn't going to make them look better, in fact it may look worse

Thoughts? Encouragement? Thanks if you got this far. I think I need to decide whether to go ahead or to give the deep cleaning another go - but I just don't know.

 

[angel123]

no one ???

 

[JJones86]

Hi.

I'm sorry, but I don't know much about periodontal disease and gum surgery. I'm afraid I may be headed in that direction soon. I just had a deep cleaning for gingivitis. I have no idea if it helped.

My advice would be to go with your doctor's recommendation. For me personally I could not sit in that chair for 4-5 hours without some sort of sedation. Nitrous has helped me with a long appointment, but that was only 2 1/2 hours. I'd hope that it'd help for longer also.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

JJ

 

[Angeldove]

I've been through the gum flap surgery that reduces tooth pockets. And I paid for it out of pocket - minus a discount because I have insurance. I had my left side done (almost all of the upper and just one or two teeth on the lower) and the final cost for me (with the discount) was $1739 (that's a bit more than I'm paying in rent for a 2 bedroom apartment).

The procedure is a difficult one - one that I recommend a person be sedated for. I was just numbed up really really well - but it was freaking scary to go through to be honest. It's a long procedure (at least 2 hours), then I took off 4 days to rest and heal - which was a really good idea for myself. The first few days are painful, but I was able to do work normally as a teacher once I returned (you can read more about this in my journal - see the link in my signature).

The results are amazing though. That side previously continued to bleed and have pus while I was flossing - compared to my right side that healed up from daily brushing and flossing. A few months since I'm completely healed (I have some scarring on my gums from the stitches but nothing too bad) and I have ZERO bleeding, ZERO pus, and it is soooooooo much easier to floss on that side.

So yes it is expensive, yes it is time consuming, yes it is painful and a bit much to deal with, but the results have been really great for me, so I'm happy I went through it.

 

[angel123]

thanks both for your replies - really helpful.

Though I have pockets that were measurable I'm experiencing no bleeding or pain right now - floss and use interdental brushes etc....... so though I know there will be benefits etc hard to see.

Better bite the bullet so to speak and book I guess - and see if I can afford the sedation :/

 

[Angeldove]

thanks both for your replies - really helpful.

Though I have pockets that were measurable I'm experiencing no bleeding or pain right now - floss and use interdental brushes etc....... so though I know there will be benefits etc hard to see.

What size were your pockets? I had pockets ranging from 4 mm's to 7 mm's, so I really needed the surgery. Once you gums heal up completely, you should see a big difference when you look at your gums and it feels very different when you floss - I have soooo much more space in-between my teeth now.