Explaining perio Flashcards
Intro
I understand that you saw another student in your last session and they gave you a bit of an examination and sent you for an xray, is that right? So what we’re going to do in this session is discuss what I can see from the tests and the xray so you know what it means to you. If you want to ask anything at any point please do.
explaining BPE
When we do an examination we always give each part of the mouth a score.
I. Bleeding – the bacteria on your teeth are building up to make a sticky plaque. This can irritate the gums and cause them to be inflamed and bleed
II. Calculus – plaque that has not been cleaned off the teeth can harden into what we call calculus. It is hard to get off at home but the dentist can remove it.
III. Shallow pocket – the build-up of plaque and calculus can cause the gum to detach from the tooth, creating a pocket between them – this is what is happening in your teeth
IV. Deeper pocket
* Furcation – (use hand to demonstrate)
explaining radiograph
These are your teeth and this is your bone. The bone should usually be up here, but you can see here that some of the bone holding your teeth in has actually been lost
explaining diagnosis
Have you ever heard of gum disease?
There are two types of gum disease, gingivitis which is reversible, and periodontitis, which isn’t. The things we have just discussed suggests to me that you have what we call chronic periodontitis, which unfortunately can’t be reversed but it can be controlled so it doesn’t get any worse.
explaining benefits of treatment
To start with, it’s worth letting you know at this stage that with the amount of bone loss that you’ve had, some of your teeth are not going to last much longer and removing them would be part of halting the disease progression. It’s likely that they already are, or will become wobbly and uncomfortable for you to keep. Whether we hold onto these teeth or extract them is entirely up to you and it does not have to be done immediately.
We can treat this here and get it to a stable point where it isn’t worsening, but we need you on board. You would need to be cleaning your teeth really well every day to keep everything healthy. The better you do at home, the more successful the treatment is going to be. We can put a tailored treatment plan together that you are happy with, if you decide to go ahead with the treatment.
explaining risk of not treating
Without treatment, your bone will continue to disappear until it can’t hold your teeth in any more
conclusion
I would support you and help you through the process because I want you to get the most out of it. Is there anything you’d like to ask me or to go over again?
