Your bone and gum tissue should fit together like a glove around your teeth. Yet, when you have periodontal disease, supporting tissue and bone is destroyed, forming "pockets" around the teeth.

Over time, bacteria settles in these pockets. They cannot be removed by your daily oral hygiene, so they continue to reproduce.

Without proper treatment, such as pocket depth reduction, the bacteria in these pockets create further gum and bone loss, which can result in teeth extraction.

Pocket depth reduction is a term used for a series of different surgical procedures (gingivectomy, flap surgery, osseous surgery). The purpose of the procedures is to gain access to the root surface and to reduce the size of the pockets to help prevent the bacteria from settling in.

The Procedure

Pocket depth reduction is done in the dentist’s office with local anesthesia. The periodontist folds back the gum tissue to remove the disease-causing bacteria before securing the tissue into place.

In some cases, irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to limit areas where disease-causing bacteria can hide. This allows the gum tissue to better reattach to healthy bone.

Benefits

• Maintains a healthy smile.
• Increases your chance of keeping your natural teeth.
• Decreases the chance of serious health problems associated with periodontal disease.

Book an appointment with Dental Artist today.