Friday 20 November 2015

How Healing Periodontal Pocket Can Be Achieved

By Mattie Knight


It is common for over-sized depths to be created between teeth and gums, and when that occurs, the condition is referred to as periodontal pocket in dentistry. The position of occurrence of the depth is usually where gingival tissue and tooth come into contact. Periodontitis patients are at a higher risk of developing pockets, but that is not automatic. Healing periodontal pocket involves several procedures depending on one major factor, that is, severity. The severe the situation, the more complicated the healing process.

The occurrence of pockets in the mouth results from many different causes. However, one of the major one is when there is a break down in the gums that cause them to be separated from teeth. The pockets usually get filled with harmful bacteria that occur in the mouth. Once the bacteria are inside that space, they multiply rapidly and lead to the opening deepening even more.

The formation of pockets usually takes place around the teeth and if left unattended to, the problem only gets worse. The bacteria destroy the bone and tissue around the spaces so severely over time. When the loss of bone and tissue has occurred too much, there is pain which differs in the amount of degree. Teeth may eventually need to be removed because of this condition. Failure to get the problem solved may lead to loss of all teeth in the mouth eventually.

Treatment for periodontal pockets depends on how worse the situation is. During early stages, usually the gum alone is infected by bacteria, but the bone is intact. Such pockets measure between 4 to 5 millimeters in depth. Scaling and root planning can be used to eliminate any calculus that may be formed. In cases where the pockets are tender, the gums may need to be numbed to avoid pain during the process.

Once this process is finished, one should not feel any pain. Plaque may start forming immediately if proper oral care is not done. It is recommended to brush and floss on a daily basis to keep plaque out. It may take some time, but the gums will move closer to the teeth at the root and health will be restored.

In few cases, gums fail to shrink back into the correct position because they are swollen. That may require the swollen gums to be trimmed back by a dentist. This process is done using a tool called a gingivectomy. Failure to trim the swollen gums creates space for plaque to start accumulating again and soon or later the pockets recur.

Smoothening is done in case bone has been damaged so that reattachment of gum tissues to healthy bone is made easy. Pockets are 5-7 millimeters deep in moderate stages of the disease, This size makes scaling and planning insufficient, which makes exploitation of other options necessary. Normally flap surgery becomes the best approach for solving the problem.

Flap surgery opens the tooth to allow easy access to space for cleaning the bacteria and other substances deposited. After the surgery, it is hard to the gum tissue to reconnect to the tooth. If that happens, the patient has to rely on regular visits to a hygienist to control reoccurrence of the problem. More advanced stages of pockets makes recovery and chances of keeping the tooth much harder.




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