Okay friends, some of you might remember my dilema regarding whether or not to get a bone graft on a gap site b/c my ortho thought that getting the graft would facilitate closing the gap (which has been quite stubborn). I visited with the oral surgeon who after examination wasn't entirely certain about whether I needed a graft or not. I'm not sure why my ortho set up the visit with the oral surgeon anyway, since the surgeon isn't a perio. Now the office called me and wants me to see a perio.
Okay - so i'm just a tad confused here. before treatment I wasn't told that periodontic treatment would be necessary. I wasn't told about bone loss, or that I may have bone loss, or that braces may cause/worsen bone loss. AFter two extractions and brace day, I thought I was home free. Now here I am more than half-way through treatment, and a perio comes into the picture. Is this common in adult patients? If bone loss is an issue, shouldn't this be discussed prior treatment? why a perio NOW? I have so many questions and such an inaccessible and uncooperate ortho, I'm even thinking of changing orthos!
I'm 35 btw, don't know if that makes a difference. My dentist at my recent check-up and cleaning said that my bone loss wasn't abnormal and that frankly, he wasn't sure what the ortho was 'seeing'. So, off to the perio I go. reluctantly.
a visit to a periodontist
Moderator: bbsadmin
Maybe the ortho wants you to see the perio because they specialize in bone loss issues. Even though you don't have bone loss associated with periodontal disease, the extraction site is lacking bone. So the perio might be the best person to decide whether you need a bone graft at the extraction site.