What Works for Oral Health?
Recently, within the last seven days actually, I purchased a HydroFloss. A what? Well, it is sort of like a high powered waterpik that uses magnetized water.
Why? For starters, I'm tired of my dentist complaining about my gingivitis which has now become mild to moderate periodontal disease. Will a HydroFloss change that? I honestly don't know, yet. Based on what I've read about them, it may be possible. I'm a skeptic by nature though, but I'm also curious enough to try out different things. Sometimes that strategy works for me and sometimes it doesn't.
I've had a lot of problems with dentists over the years. I don't believe that all dentists are completely honest. In fact, I had a dentist tell me that I had a 'trouble spot' that she wanted to drill into. I went to another dentist who didn't appear to detect any problem or any 'trouble spot' at all. That was after waiting six months. If there was a problem that was going to get worse, it certainly didn't do so.
Another time, a dentist cheerfully suggested a root canal for a pain I was having in a tooth. I declined. In less than two weeks, that pain went away and never came back, without a root canal being done. That was about 14 years ago. I've heard stories from people who went to a dentist to be told that they had several cavities. Upon visiting a different dentist they were told they had none!
I find this trend disturbing. I go to a dentist to maintain my teeth and gums and to make sure that I keep the teeth with minimal damage to the gums. So when unnecessary procedures are recommended, I find it a little annoying. I should be able to trust my dentist but instead, I view her much like I view a car dealership when taking my car in for service. Watch the wallet or get taken. I shouldn't have to feel that way about my dentist. But I do.
One of the best sales presentations I have ever seen was that of a dental hygienist. She wanted to sell me a 'root scaling and planing'. During this procedure they anesthetize your gums and use metal instruments to scrape and scale along the root to remove plaque under the gumline.
I bet it hurts a lot when the anesthesia wears off. I was told this was the 'only' way to get rid of plaque under the gums. Since I declined the procedure, they wanted me to sign a waiver in case I lost my teeth as a result of not undergoing their prescribed treatment. I viewed this as another scare tactic. It also motivated me to find another solution.
Like I said before, I have only had my HydroFloss for a week, but I like the results I'm seeing so far. When finished using it, I feel like my gums have just had a good massage and it only takes a few minutes to go over my entire gumline.
I asked my dentist what she thought about the HydroFloss. She wasn't convinced that it was any better than a waterpik. I decided to try it. If my dentist doesn't like it, it might actually be good for me.
