Shelby Township Dentist Explains Importance of Measuring Gums at a Dental Cleaning

Hi, my name is Nikki Goolsby, and I’m a registered Dental Hygienist here at HPS Advanced Dental Care located in Shelby Township, Michigan. You may have heard your hygienist at your previous cleanings start rambling off some numbers and you have no idea what they mean. They actually have a much larger meaning than you may think. According to the guidelines set by the ADA, us as hygienists, we measure the health of your gums by gently inserting a probe around the gums. This determines the health of your gums.

Any reading from 1 to 3 millimeters is considered to be healthy. Once you have millimeter probings of 4 and above, that means that there is a disease process starting to take place. When you brush and floss, removing plaque from above the gum line, if there’s any plaque left on the tooth, it harbors bacteria and then migrates below the gum line. At that point, it starts to irritate the gums, causing bleeding and causing an inflammatory process to take place. If that bacteria isn’t removed from under the gums, it starts to create periodontal disease or bone loss.