Monday, November 16, 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.

Failure to manage pockets while still at the initial stage allows them to get deeper because they form around teeth. Bone and gum tissue are severely damaged by the action of bacteria. Pain is likely to be felt when as the situation gets worse. Eventually, the only solution left would be to extract teeth. All teeth may have to be extracted in very severe cases that have been going on for years.

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.

Pain should not be experienced after the process. Lack of proper oral hygiene leads to formation of plaque again. Daily brushing and flossing is recommended for better and faster results. Gums shrink back to the teeth and health is restored within a couple of month.

Swollen gums cannot shrink back to their original position after scaling and planning. As such, they must be trimmed to the root of the tooth. A gingivectony refers to the medical instrument used in this procedure. Untrimmed gums form spaces, which eventually get filled up with bacteria and tartar causing a recurrence of the condition.

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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