Thurs., March 6

What an interesting day! I had it all figured out. My AM pt. would be a II, and my PM pt. would be a IB.
Well, it wasn't long before it became evident that my AM pt. was not a Class II but a IB! She came late and had to leave early, so I did 4 BWs and an OD. She was scheduled to return March 27.
As I looked in my PM pt's mouth (the 16 yo male) I was shocked. I had never seen tissue so inflammed, red, and bulbous, except in some of my books! It amazed me that he reported no pain or sensitivity. He also had enough bone loss and calculus to be a Class II. This was very sad to see in one so young. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time on OHI, and I tried to educate him about perio dz and how it relates to tooth loss. I stressed his need to take better care of his teeth NOW, or be at risk for losing his teeth in the future. He seemed receptive, and I can only hope he'll comply. I did let his mom know that he needs to brush 2x/day and floss 1x/day, even though I know that at his age her influence may count for less. I also recommended Listerine, and he seemed to think that was good.
So, there you go. You never know exactly what you have until you look in the mouth, and not all teens are IBs!