#61 - Floss often enough that the hygienist can see an improvement next checkup

My last dental cleaning was about 7 months ago. At this cleaning, they did one of those gum "tests" where they check how deep the pockets of your gums are on your teeth. I pretty much failed. They strongly recommend I have periodontal therapy done. However, my insurance was not going to cover it, and it was rather expensive. So I told myself that I would floss as much as I could and be diligent with the oral hygiene and see if I couldn't get my "test" scores to improve on my own.

I did not think at my cleaning appointment today that I would hear such good news. My scores were improved and they no longer are recommending the expensive periodontal therapy. They said that I am still at increased risk for gum disease and that I always need to keep an eye on this. But the hygienist also said she was super impressed with how well I did on my own! Yay!

I am not marking this one complete yet, even though I "technically" could do so. I am going to wait until my next 6 month appointment and make sure that I keep up with the flossing.

As a side note, I also learned today that my high scores on my test seven months ago could have been due to hormonal fluctuations because it had only been a month or two since I stopped breastfeeding.