Welcome to the Dr. Nilo’s Hygiene and Periodontal Academy Mindset. What is this about, you ask? It’s a mindset that very few people have instinctively. Why? Because most people get lax in their jobs after a while. In hygiene, it’s so much more than that, and it takes a special person to truly grasp what this is and what it means. The patient’s health is really at risk. Let’s break down this mindset.

Bone Loss and What It Represents

Bone loss is the starting point of periodontal disease. It’s the point of no return for a periodontium. So where is that point exactly, and how do you identify it? It’s the moment a pocket goes from 3mm to 4mm in depth. At this point, the disease process has taken a strong foothold and is destructive. In the “Gingivitis Stage,” a person has no bone loss; they are just “dirty” and can be reversed. They can be dramatically improved with good coaching and their own understanding and belief in maintenance.

But the moment a person’s pocket crosses that line from 3mm to 4mm, everything just changed. There is no brush, rinse, floss, or pick that can reach the depth of a 4mm pocket to completely clean it. It doesn’t matter what advertisers say; it can’t and won’t clean a 4mm pocket. This is considered the most important time of “treatment” in a person’s dental journey.

The Right Mindset for Treatment

So, why are dentists and hygienists so relaxed when it comes to the treatment protocols for this level of diagnostic disease?

Because it’s the wrong mindset. Hygienists and dentists alike believe that they must work harder on the deeper pockets, which is true to a certain point. But the mindset should be that we work the hardest to try and get those “early” 4mm pockets to resolve and revert to 3mm pockets. That would make the biggest impact on their lives moving forward.

In our next session, we will discuss the examination process and what “should” be completed at a minimum to give patients their best chance to overcome this disease.