Anyone in the dental field here? (SRP)

[Compit]

My background:

In my family we never went to doctors or dentists unless there was something wrong. In my case, there was never anything wrong. I was a very healthy kid both physically and in terms of teeth. So I never went.

Once I became an adult nothing changed. I didn't have anything wrong so I never went. It wasn't until about a year and a half ago that I made my first dentist appointment. It was the first in some thirty years or so. I went to have a couple cavities filled.

While there the dentist is doing all sorts of things I didn't ask for: x-rays, impressions, ect. I was happy about the service and since I had insurance at that time it was all good. He also asked about the last time I had my teeth cleaned. I said never. I honestly had no idea what this even was or any idea that I needed it.

As he started extracting all this yellow crud from under the gumline I got the idea as to why this was probably a good thing. He suggested I have it done every 6 months or so. Shortly afterwards I lost my insurance and haven't been back.

Since then I've been left to wonder how much crud is still up there. I have occoassional minor bleeding when brushing, and I've had a couple negative comments about my breath. I've begun to research the possibility of getting a complete and total cleaning, whatever the cost in time and money.

I've learned about scaling and root planing on the web. Apparently it's prescribed for people with advanced periodontal disease. I've also learned that the cost can be upwards of 1k.

I'd like to learn from anyone with experience in dentistry and/or dental hygiene, what are my options here and how much should I really be paying for a quality cleaning? This will all be out of pocket but money well spent if I can get the job done right. Who should I be seeing? Would a series of regular cleanings be as good if I didn't have pockets or any other signs of advanced decay?

I'm in Montgomery county Maryland if anyone wants to throw out a reference. Thanks in advance for any replies.

[kyleb]

Scaling and root planing is so painful it's sickening. I had it done at the community college I was going to since it was free (dentists were training hygenists) and you would have to pay me a ludicrous amount of money to do it again.

I really need to get my teeth cleaned before I go back to Cleveland, though. Shouldn't cost that much, I would think. Most places give you a cash discount if you're not paying with insurance.