Pocket Reduction
At R.A. Campbell Dentistry, we are passionate about your gum health! We offer periodontal pocket reduction procedures to help maintain your oral health.
What is Pocket Reduction?
Your bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth like a turtleneck around your neck.
A healthy pocket depth (the space between the gum and tooth that the hygienist can easily clean) is between 1-3mm. When you have periodontal disease, this supporting tissue and bone is destroyed, forming "pockets" around the teeth.
Over time, these pockets become deeper, providing a larger space for bacteria to live. As bacteria develops around the teeth, they can accumulate and advance under the gum tissue. These deep pockets collect even more bacteria, resulting in further bone and tissue loss. Eventually, if too much bone is lost, the teeth will need to be extracted.
How can I treat pocket reduction?
Our periodontist can clean out the existing bacteria and reduce the pocket depth to a healthier measurement.
During this procedure, your periodontist folds back the gum tissue and removes the disease-causing bacteria before securing the tissue into place.
Reduced pockets and a combination of daily oral hygiene and professional maintenance can increase your chances of keeping your natural teeth – and decrease the chance of serious health problems associated with periodontal disease.