Periodontal exam with deep probings

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#1 Post by **cwatt1** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:56 pm

Hi all,

I'm a 56 y/o man scheduled to have my impressions taken next week, and my new Damon braces installed on July 12. I'm looking forward to the journey...

My ortho had me make an appointment with my regular dentist to have a periodontal exam with "deep probings".

Does anyone know what this involves? I've not heard of this before -- my dental office said something about measuring the thickness of the gumline, or something.

Thanks for a great forum -- looking forward to sharing my journey with you, as I've enjoyed reading about your various experiences as well.

#2 Post by **cwatt1** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:31 pm

Thanks, Karen, for your informative reply. Wherever did you find that article? It's a great cure for insomnia,

but it does contain a lot of good information.

#3 Post by **cowlypso** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:33 pm

They just take a probe (not sharp on the end, but very thin) and put it in between your tooth and gum and see how far it goes down. It shouldn't go down too far... If it goes down a ways, it's called "pockets" and it's an indication of gum disease.

Here's the general idea:

#4 Post by **cwatt1** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:48 pm

Thanks, everybody. Hopefully everything turns out OK. My ortho actually didn't send me to a periodondist; he wants my regular dentist to do some probings, so hopefully it's just routine (maybe because I'm an old guy at 56

)