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Say NO when you do not KNOW!

So here is a picture which I took while I was between my sub-gingival scaling procedure today!  My patient was a 33-year-old man who complained that, since he was told to get his teeth cleaned once every six months, he has developed bleeding and receding gums! He said that the whole idea is wrong and he has to face a lot because of the same now! Apparently, this man has been getting his scaling done once every six months, and wow this is the state of his gums! I really don’t know what makes the dentists ignore such a basic procedure! Or maybe because we have been focusing more on the “big cases” and “Dental Implants” we forget that it is our duty to give our patients the basics right! I can’t describe the amount of negativity he had for dentists and the notion of regular oral checkups! As per him, regular visits are just a money minting procedure, because he ended up in disease despite doing the same since past 5 years! I feel if the treatment is done like this then yes regular check-ups and especially scaling is surely a money making procedure that’s all! Take a scaler move it in all bizarre directions on all the portions of the teeth you see and you’re done! No change of tip, no entry in the subgingival area, no irrigation, no use of hand curettes nothing! It is not for no reason that 95% of Indian population has gum disease! We are the creators! Because we have all our attention on putting implants
and doing full mouth rehabs!

To my non-periodontist friends from other specialties and to my general dentist friends…please say NO when you don’t know how to do it! Be it for any procedure big or small! Consultations do exist for scaling too!  We love following the west, in that case, follow the west in dentistry too! At least do not give this to your patients, do not make them suffer because your ego did not allow you to ask or consult, and most important please do not deteriorate dentistry further! I know this blog is a little on the harsher side, which is because I thought it needed to be so! 

Comments

  1. vandita mishraJuly 25, 2017 at 8:13 PM

    Yes very true! And specifically and sadly in Periodontology no one wants to consult bcoz they say that the patients do not agree! Now that i am practising for myself i realise if you tell the patients they happily agree for any periodontal procedure! Provided the dentist educates them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gautham NaiduJuly 26, 2017 at 6:43 AM

    Dentists want to do hair transplants now.. I don't get it when we can't even handle simple scaling procedures and provide a proper periodontal diagnosis why would one venture out for something which is not even a procedure we are authorized to do.. We all started as barbers.. And we are gonna end up as one...

    ReplyDelete
  3. vandita mishraJuly 26, 2017 at 9:11 AM

    Very true Dr Naidu!

    ReplyDelete
  4. aashwiinAugust 28, 2017 at 6:06 AM

    Dr vandita i hope your blog reaches far and wide. I am a periodontist and its sad to see this kind of dentistry. Not naming anyone but dentists in big hospitals also do not educate or consult anyone. All think scaling is just a supragingival procedure. I just wish we had a more cohesive dental practice

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mabel GarciaApril 11, 2019 at 8:24 AM

    Very informative and gets me more excited to become a dentist.

    ReplyDelete

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