Years of untreated gingivitis didn't progress?

[Scaredwolf]

So I visited a dentist for the first time in years yesterday regarding a black line filling around one of my front teeth. I have pretty bad oral hygiene and haven't been to the dentist in years. I also bleed pretty often when I brush for years.

the dentist just said it looks like acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis after doing a full set of X-rays on my mouth and scheduled me for a full mouth debridement and a second follow up cleaning. He said I didn't need a Scaling and Root planing.

He he also says after a good cleaning (and having a pair of cavities filled) I will only need to step my oral hygiene up a bit and see him every 6 months.

Would he have seen periodontitis in those X-rays? Or will they only find that when they probe me Friday?

i wanna take this is as good news, but I can't see how I got so lucky to avoid bone loss and serious damage.

 

[drm]

The biggest defining factor of periodontal disease is bone loss. If if he took a full mouth set of x-rays and there is no or minimal bone loss then you may have lucked out. Some people don't develop bone loss even with years of bad oral hygiene. They may still find some limited areas when doing probing, but any major damage would have been seen on the x-rays. That said, I'm glad you went to see your dentist and are getting back on track! The inflammation / bleeding gums / build-up that goes along with it has been linked to some other health problems such as heart disease and diabetes and getting all that cleaned will go along way towards keeping your mouth (and the rest of your body) healthy.

 

[Scaredwolf]

The biggest defining factor of periodontal disease is bone loss. If if he took a full mouth set of x-rays and there is no or minimal bone loss then you may have lucked out. Some people don't develop bone loss even with years of bad oral hygiene. They may still find some limited areas when doing probing, but any major damage would have been seen on the x-rays. That said, I'm glad you went to see your dentist and are getting back on track! The inflammation / bleeding gums / build-up that goes along with it has been linked to some other health problems such as heart disease and diabetes and getting all that cleaned will go along way towards keeping your mouth (and the rest of your body) healthy.

First things first. Thank you so much for your response! It's been a really traumatic anxiety ridden week.

He didn't mention any bone loss and specifically said I did not need to be scheduled for a root planing. Just a full mouth debridement and a follow up fine scale cleaning, so I don't think I had bone loss, which makes me want to jump for joy.

Could he have missed bone loss on a full mouth set of X-rays?

If there are some minimal pocket areas will I have to have root planning for them after I have these two cleanings?

If I don't and I only have to get a good pair of cleanings and improve my oral hygiene at home while maintaining 6 month cleanings...I really will feel like I've been blessed and not waste this second chance.