• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

scaling and root planning???

G

Guest

Former Member
Hello, This is my first post here. I was told that I'm going to need scaling and root planning because my gums bleed easily and are quite swollen. This is due in large part to the fact that I avoided the dentist for a while due to anxiety. Now I have an appointment for the scaling on Monday with a periodontist. To say that I'm anxious about this is an understatement. I was told by the general dentist that this will bring down the swelling of the gums. Will this cause my teeth to loosen since the gums will change? Also, how long does the pain last after this procedure and how long should I avoid eating solids? It took me quite a while to get back to the dentist, now I feel as though I'm starting over because of this procedure. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Bringing the swelling down won't cause your teeth to fall out. NOT getting the gum disease under control most certainly WILL do though ;D
Scaling and root planing doesn't usually cause an awful lot of after pain, the best thing to do is tackle it before the pain starts in the first place, so plan to take some painkillers immediately you get back from the dentist's office. As a general rule, the best painkillers for dental pain are the NSAID drugs such as Ibuprofen or Ketoprofen. If you can't take these for some reason, then Paracetamol or good old Aspirin can work almost as well.
Taking painkillers before pain starts is much better, trust me on this one, I verified it by experimenting on myself when I got my wisdom teeth out in 1981 :( I was a young and idealistic dental student at the time and it seemed like a good idea back then!
You can eat solids whenever you like afterwards.

--
Gordon
 
Back
Top