Do you need to have your gums poked?

Poking the gums is an exhaulted practice of dental hygiensits. But is it necessary? Did you know that poker, called a periodontal probe, was perfected in 1880? What other diagnostic tool would you use in medicine that was perfect for over 100 years?
As a practiced dental hygienist since 1986 I'm appalled at the lack of progress that dentistry has done. Rarely do dentists as for labs, or do saliva testing, or use fluorescence to detect decay. Do you know that's its nearly impossible to know if the bleeding is coming from a bacterial infection or diabetes? We can do better, and patients can ask for better.