Understanding Pocket Reduction Surgery: Your Path to Healthier Gums
When you have a healthy mouth, you rarely think about your gums. Healthy gums are painless, don’t bleed, and fit snugly around your teeth. However, when you have gum disease, the depth between your teeth and gums widens, creating periodontal pockets. Without treatment, these deep pockets hide harmful bacteria and deposits that can eventually lead to tooth loss.
The team at Kelli Brady DDS performs pocket reduction surgery at our offices in Norwood, New Jersey, and New York, NY to eliminate pockets that form between teeth and gums. This procedure reduces bacteria spread and halts the destructive nature of periodontal disease to promote optimal oral and overall health.
Why do periodontal pockets form?
Plaque is a sticky, colorless film that forms along the gum line due to bacteria interacting with food debris and saliva. Plaque can be removed with at-home dental tools, but when left too long, it calcifies into tartar, which can only be removed in a dental office.
The bacteria in plaque and tartar irritate your gums, triggering an inflammatory response from the body. When left untreated, gum disease progresses, eventually attacking the periodontal ligaments and teeth-supporting bone. As a result, pockets form between the teeth and the gums.
What does pocket reduction surgery involve?
Periodontal disease is a progressive oral condition. If left untreated, the massive bacteria colonization in the deep pockets can lead to tooth loss. Pocket reduction surgery, gingivectomy, gum flap, or osseous surgery eliminates bacteria-harboring pockets to halt the destructive cycle of gum disease.
Your procedure starts with a consultation to examine your oral health. We’ll use digital x-rays and a periodontal probe to measure the depth of the pockets. If it is determined that pocket reduction surgery is needed, we will schedule the appointment. At the appointment, we will begin by numbing the area we will be working on. Once you are comfortable, we will do a “gum lift” to expose the underlying root surface. We’ll use scaling tools to remove calcified deposits and bacterial toxins from the root’s surface. If we spot rough edges, we’ll smooth them out to encourage the gums to reattach to your teeth.
Afterward, the dentist will rinse the area with antimicrobial agents to kill any traces of unwanted bacteria. The final step is to suture the gum lower so that the pockets are not as deep. Healing takes about 5-10 days. Although your mouth will experience some sensitivity after this procedure, the periodontal pockets will be significantly reduced. This will allow you to be able to keep the teeth and pockets cleaner, which will prevent future bone loss.
Gingivectomy near me
If you have advanced gum disease, you may feel like treatment is out of reach. At Kelli Brady DDS, your smile is never a lost cause. We offer advanced gum disease treatments to treat even the most complex cases. Call (201) 806-6866 Norwood, NJ, or (646) 692-0227 New York, NY to learn more about our periodontal treatments from Dr. Kelli Brady.
