Dental care /Periodontics Full Mouth Debridement?

I am 21 years old and my dentist tells me I need the above procedure due to beginning gingivitis. I have dental insurance, but they are charging me 178.00 for the debridement. Then I have to wait six weeks and get a regular cleaning. The cleaning is free under my insurance. I think this is highway robbery. I am going to floss regularly now and I want to just get the insurance covered cleaning.


What do you think?


Thanks in advance,


Brent

Dental care /Periodontics Full Mouth Debridement?
Did the dentist mention why you would need/benefit from the Debridement? Did they say you had a lot of build up/tartar/calculus? Did they say you had periodontal pockets (or numbers greater than 4 millimeters?) Did they say you had a significant amount of bleeding or plaque? I will typically recommend a patient have a Debridement if they #1 have an excessive amount of tartar and I can't properly examine their gum tissues #2 if they haven't had a cleaning for several years and have a moderate amount of tartar that can't be cleaned off in a one hour appointment (but don't have periodontal disease). #3 if they have severe gingivitis and excessive bleeding. I will debride the mouth and lessen the amount of overall infection present- then do a "regular" cleaning 2 weeks later (the time it takes the superficial gum tissue to heal).





The insurance pays for "preventive care". This means that if the cleaning is done to PREVENT disease- they pay for it. If you go to the dentist and HAVE disease and it needs to be treated with a more thorough or deep cleaning- the insurance company may cover only a portion or may not cover it at all.





Flossing is great- but it will not remove the deposits (calculus, tartar) hardened onto your teeth. They have formed a lovely chemical bond with your tooth and need to be removed with a metal instrument. You can't brush or floss this off. The deposits form a rock-like structure on your teeth. This provides a place for bacteria to crawl inside and hide- so even when you do brush and floss you're not removing all the bacteria from the area. The bacteria sit up against your gum tissue and infect them. This is why people need to have their teeth cleaned regularly- to prevent gingivitis and periodontitis.





If you don't feel like they've explained why you need a debridement go elsewhere. Every dental office is different. You need to be comfortable with the diagnosis and the reasons- not just the fees they charge.





If you're comfortable with the office and the diagnosis- then pay the $$. Your mouth is well worth this investment.





Best of luck!
Reply:If your dentist thinks that you need the full mouth debridement, get it done. You cannot just floss and do what the debridement can do. So just save up the money because it will be worth it in the long run! Good luck!

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