Originally Posted by ratbastid

It's called "planing and root scaling" "scaling and root planing.". It's not really painful at the time because of the Novocain they give you. Hurts like a motherfucker later in the day, though. Most people are a little sore afterward, but many don't even need pain medication.

Basically they take a device similar to a dental drill, but with a spinning head rather than a drill bit the same instruments that remove tartar during a regular cleaning, and slip it deep (could be 10 or 12mm 5 or 6 mm--it's not effective deeper than that without doing surgery) between the gum and tooth, cleaning off scaly deposits of plaque from the tooth. It's a long, gruelling, bloody affair for some people. And it's a temporary measure it is effective for years if you continue to have regularly scheduled cleanings, preferably every three months. 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.