you were better the second time because they cleaned your teeth the first time. Not from an electric toothbrush.
Disregard all non-sense in this thread....deep cleaning is a great idea. I get it done every 6 months. They probe pretty rough under the gums but I promise your teeth will never feel cleaner. It basically is cleaning under the teeth's surface. You will be sore for a few days, but it really wipes out all the crap build-up thats making its way into the areas that cause serious dental problems. A normal cleaning is just cleaning the surface usually. I could only compare it to running your car through a gas station car wash opposed to taking it to Rainbow to get it detailed out. For $175, I would do it. Probably save you more time, money and pain down the road.
I forgot to mention, go ahead and buy a sonic care toothbrush if you already haven't. It really helps keep your gums healthy. Cleanings are much easier on you if you use the toothbrush.
Usually, the method used to determine if you need this is pretty straight forward. They measure how far they can poke this metal thing under your gumline (has little notches on it) usually after they see that your gums are not as healthy as they should be (sounds like you don't floss enough, but who does?). If you get a bunch of "4's and 5's" then they recommend it because you have buildup below the gum line that is keeping your gums from healing. Putting off the procedure will only make it worse later, and could lead to tooth loss (not to mention they say that there are ties between this condition and heart disease, however "they" figure these things). I have had the procedure not once but twice, and the price you're getting sounds reasonable. It used to cost more... and it used to be more painful. The second time i had it done there had been some advances in how they did it and it wasn't so bad. The first time, shots in the gums and still severe pain as they performed the "operation". I shudder recalling it. Anyway, I'd do it... and afterwards make sure you get your arse in there 2-3 times a year for cleanings, and make sure you either floss or use a waterpik to keep it from occurring again.
Bump from the dead...is $700 normal for deep cleaning? My insurance only covers 40%, so I'll have to pay about $400 out of pocket.
$400 hundred sounds about right... I have dental plan but it didn't cover it so I had to play like $350 at my Vietnamese Dentist...
I had a dentist that told me that I needed deep cleaning because my gum checks were 4's and 5's and some 6's. I didn't want to pay for it so I asked if I could just try flossing daily. They wouldn't even give me a regular cleaning that day and I felt like they were being pushy. Anyway, I didn't have it done and I started flossing at least once or twice a day. There are these little flosser picks that you can get at the grocery store and I keep them in my car. After a few months of that I went to a different dentist and my gum checks were 1's and 2's and no need for the deep cleaning. Plus I'm addicted to flossing when I used to always get the 'you need to floss' lectures every time I went to the dentist.
I don't recommend that, you can seriously poke something... I floss with those little things when i'm sitting in front of the computer or TV, it's really become habitual... but i usually go through 2-4 of them things a session
Having wisdom teeth pulled is the scam. I've never met anyone that saw a dentist regularly and didn't have their wisdom teeth pulled. Money grab.
I'll give you guys a good tip who don't have dental insurance. Find a dental hygiene school program and call the clinic to set up an appointment. You can go get a full cleaning, x rays, exam ect for like $25. These are all students who have an extremely tough regiment they have to abide by in order to get credit from the professors to graduate so they are extremely thorough and make sure the job gets done. A typical dentist is all about seeing the next patient and it is my opinion that you can get a better cleaning in a clinical setting than you could at the dentist. Screw dental insurance if you have a dental hygiene school nearby. I advise this because I just had my teeth cleaned by a dental hygiene student.
You don't have to get your wisdom teeth pulled? I thought that once they start to grow, you have to pull them.
From what I understand, people's mouths are all different. You only have so much room for a number of teeth. If you have a smaller mouth, you wisdom teeth could come out slanted or it could get too tight back there to clean, hence they can cause you problems. You pull them if they need pulling.
This happened to me a couple of years ago after not seeing a dentist for a few years. Went to a new dentist and all they did was a gum check and told me to make an appointment for a deep cleaning that was going to cost me $500. They didn't even clean my teeth. I promptly switched back to my old dentist and have received nothing but good evaluations since, including my gums.
Most dentists won't do it unless you have a bunch of 5 mm pockets. I have had the procedure done twice over the past 20 years. The first time, there were shots involved and it was incredibly painful. The second time the process was different, new tools, and didn't require anything but a topical painkiller. That price sounds about right. The first time I did it it was more like $300. The last, about $180. I've been with my dentist since 1974, so I trust his assessments. Gotta floss more, or use a waterpic. Some people are just more prone to this as well. It runs in my family, I have an uncle that goes through this, too.
my dentist said my wisdom teeth were growing in straight and i had enough room for them so he opted not to take them out. I had insurance at that time.
