lundi 11 janvier 2016

How Healing Periodontal Pocket Is Done

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.

Bone tissue is usually lost in moderate and advanced cases of pockets. Moderate pockets are slightly deeper and can reach seven millimeters in depth. The great depth involved makes cleaning the bottom of the pocket difficult because it cannot be accessed using scaling and root planing method. Therefore, flap surgery is the only preferable option. Flap surgery enables sufficient access to calculus which allows thorough cleaning to be done.

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.

The inability of the gum to reconnect to the tooth when the incision has been done is one of this problems of flap surgery. That makes pockets to persist even after removing the infection and calculus. Frequent hygienist cleanings are therefore necessary in order to prevent future reoccurrence of this problem. It is also possible to reposition gums in order to remove pockets during surgical procedure.

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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