ratbastid

It's called "planing and root scaling". It's not really painful at the time because of the Novocain they give you. Hurts like a motherfucker later in the day, though.

Basically they take a device similar to a dental drill, but with a spinning head rather than a drill bit, and slip it deep (could be 10 or 12mm) between the gum and tooth, cleaning off scaly deposits of plaque from the tooth. It's a long, gruelling, bloody affair. And it's a temporary measure. I had mine, and then put in place a heightened regiment of dental hygene and haven't had to have another. If you continue to abuse your teeth and gums, even regular root planings won't make up for the damage being done. Battling gum disease is like trying to climb up a "down" escalator.

Listen, here's the other side of it. My uncle is a truck driver, and truck drivers are notorious for having dental problems. They spend days on the road without brushing their teeth, it turns out, and they're home infrequently and don't find time to visit the dentist. Turns out this is one of the hazards of long-haul driving. A couple years ago my uncle had all his teeth pulled, and has dentures now, and he's never been happier. He's in no pain anymore, he doesn't have to do anything special to take care of them, and his dental life is easy. So, if you're game for that, then I say go for it.