MID wrt Periodontology
As students, we had to carry out a quota of simple gingivectomies. I can still remember the blood!
I never carried one out in general practice. I used a Cavimed for a few years, and now the evidence shows that, except in a few cases, Chlorhexidine mainly generates an income for us by staining the teeth, but only when used correctly and not at the time toothpaste is used.
Following the Legionnela scare, I used a percentage of hypochlorous acid from our Sterilox machine, which may have had some positive effect in oxygenating the pocket. Around that time I asked a Professor in Perio if we could use dilute hypochlorite in the Cavimed ultrasonic scaler. The answer was no, as no one knew a safe dose, and as it was so cheap, no one would fund a trial. They have now. But still, there hasn't been a Cockrane review. There is a ten-year-old review for Endodontics , and there are now a few on hypochlorite rinses and a recent Cochrane review that concludes it's not too effective in plaque reduction, similar to chlorhexidene but without the potential staining, a similar poor taste, and a lot cheaper.
I also invested in a Healozone machine and wondered if ozone could safely be applied in the pocket. There was a device to clean the root canal with ozone, but I never managed to use it, although gas has many advantages over liquid.
I never carried one out in general practice. I used a Cavimed for a few years, and now the evidence shows that, except in a few cases, Chlorhexidine mainly generates an income for us by staining the teeth, but only when used correctly and not at the time toothpaste is used.
Following the Legionnela scare, I used a percentage of hypochlorous acid from our Sterilox machine, which may have had some positive effect in oxygenating the pocket. Around that time I asked a Professor in Perio if we could use dilute hypochlorite in the Cavimed ultrasonic scaler. The answer was no, as no one knew a safe dose, and as it was so cheap, no one would fund a trial. They have now. But still, there hasn't been a Cockrane review. There is a ten-year-old review for Endodontics , and there are now a few on hypochlorite rinses and a recent Cochrane review that concludes it's not too effective in plaque reduction, similar to chlorhexidene but without the potential staining, a similar poor taste, and a lot cheaper.
I also invested in a Healozone machine and wondered if ozone could safely be applied in the pocket. There was a device to clean the root canal with ozone, but I never managed to use it, although gas has many advantages over liquid.
A few years ago, I attended a Perio update course run by Philip Ower. I cannot praise the course highly enough as it gave some insight into how to provide a reasonable service in general practice regarding perio. I was given, with their permission, a link to a video on Pocket cleaning, which I sent to a woman of 75 who viewed it on her iPad, and the result was the tooth we both anticipated her losing became stable. The notes are after this video summary on Ian Dunn's excellent perio update of November 2022.
I sent my patients their BPE on a template, which included an Oral Cancer Nudge and where you could market your advice. If run through the practice software, it gives a record of your periodontal advice and possibly support for periodontal litigation.
I sent my patients their BPE on a template, which included an Oral Cancer Nudge and where you could market your advice. If run through the practice software, it gives a record of your periodontal advice and possibly support for periodontal litigation.