How Healing Periodontal Pocket Involves

By Douglas Hamilton


Complete and sufficient treatment of periodontal pockets and disease requires commitment from the patient. There are two primary goals involved in the treatment process. Reducing and/or removing the formed bacterial colonies underneath gums is the first goal of treatment. The other primary goal is reducing vulnerability of the patient by eradicating risk factors such as smoking. Both primary goals are achieved from home if the pockets are still in their infancy stages. However, professional intervention is needed in healing periodontal pocket if the disease is already advanced.

In early stages of the disease, only the gum is affected, while the bone remains largely unaltered. The depth of pockets is very shallow, only extending to 5 millimeters at most. Scaling and root planing, also referred to as deep cleanings is the most commonly used process in this case. The process aims at removing all formed calculus in the gums.

Pockets can grow tender over time and that can be noticed by the surgeon during a scaling and root planing operation. Tenderness causes pain and to avoid that, numbing may be necessary. The operation does not cause after it is done. Daily brushing and flossing is necessary if future reoccurrence of this problem is to be avoided due to an accumulation of plaque. Healing gums will snug back over the root after the operation.

Moderate or advanced pockets usually result in loss of some bone tissue. Such pockets are significantly deeper, going up to 7 millimeters in depth. Calculus in such cases cannot be removed using scaling and root planing procedure. This is because scaling and planing is insufficient for reaching the bottom of pockets. Flap surgery becomes the best option in such cases. Thorough cleaning can be performed with the access granted by flap surgery.

Flap surgery involves making an incision between the gum and tooth. After making the incision, the gum gets peeled back from the neck of the tooth. With such access, the surgeon can sufficiently clean the deeply-seated calculus and debride the tooth involved. All the altered tissue can be returned to former position when the surgery is finished. This minimizes cosmetic change.

After flap surgery has been performed, the gums are usually unable to reconnect to the teem where the incision was made. That is one major drawback of the surgery. The problem can be prevented from reoccurring by frequent hygienist cleanings. During surgery, it is also possible to have the gums repositioned to eliminate pockets.

Surgery is always applicable in all cases and sometimes pockets may have reached a very advanced stage where they are very deep. That makes complete elimination of such pockets impossible. Although such pockets cannot be eliminated completely, they can be minimized and their chances of progressing can be minimized through correct measures.

Sometimes periodontal disease and pockets are considered chronic diseases that cannot be cured or eliminated completely. Susceptibility continues to exist and the cause of plaque and infection are always present in the mouth. Daily vigilance and dental hygiene are the best approaches to avoiding and healing the diseases.




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