What Treatments Are Available to Treat Periodontal Pockets? Scaling and root planing helps to deep clean in and around the periodontal pockets. This procedure removes the plaque and bacteria on the tooth and underneath the gum line. Scaling and root planing helps to shrink periodontal pockets and can heal gum tissue.
Use Natural Home Remedies
One popular home remedy is oil pulling, which involves swishing oil around in your mouth for 20 minutes each day. This helps to remove plaque and bacteria from your teeth and gums. You can also use a natural mouthwash made with essential oils like tea tree oil or peppermint oil.
Saltwater rinses help with treating gum disease but are not capable of fixing the problem by themselves. You require help from a professional periodontist and maintain good oral hygiene habits if you intend to get over periodontal disease.
If you suffer from gum pockets that cannot be treated by good oral hygiene and professional cleaning, your dentist may prescribe medication like antibiotic gel. An antibiotic gel prescribed for pockets contains doxycycline. This helps to shrink gum pockets and control the growth of bacteria.
Mouthwash can be a helpful tool in the treatment of periodontal disease. Mouthwashes that contain chlorhexidine or hydrogen peroxide can help reduce plaque and tartar buildup. Mouthwashes that contain these ingredients should be used twice a day for best results.
In most cases, the damage will not be completely reversible, but if you follow the treatment and prevention plan laid out by your dentist, you should be able to see significant improvement. Most people are able to reclaim a 4mm to 5mm pocket depth with proper treatment and ongoing periodontal maintenance.
Antibiotics. Topical or oral antibiotics can help control bacterial infection. Topical antibiotics can include antibiotic mouth rinses or putting gel containing an antibiotic into gum pockets. Sometimes oral antibiotics are needed to get of bacteria that cause infections.
Paradontax. Paradontax kills bacteria that get stuck between teeth and is also effective in cases of bleeding gums and combatting the early stages of gum recession. It's made from a combination of herbs, mineral salts, bicarbonates and fluoride.
Take To Heal? If you have the first stage of gum disease, gingivitis, you can usually expect to heal and recover within 14 days of getting a deep cleaning, assuming you take your prescribed antibiotics and maintain proper oral hygiene by brushing and flossing thoroughly.
Only the first stage of gum disease, known as “gingivitis” can be reversed. After it progresses into the second stage (periodontitis), it's no longer possible to completely eliminate it.
Periodontitis (per-e-o-don-TIE-tis), also called gum disease, is a serious gum infection that damages the soft tissue around teeth. Without treatment, periodontitis can destroy the bone that supports your teeth. This can cause teeth to loosen or lead to tooth loss.
With gum disease, you won't keep your teeth for long. In fact, unlike tooth decay which impacts your smile one tooth at a time, periodontitis can cause you to lose multiple, if not all, teeth at once. Gum disease starts small as a mild form called gingivitis.
Inflammation and swelling due to plaque and tartar can result in pocket formation between your gums and teeth. As it pulls away from your teeth, your inflamed gum tissue is now the perfect place for more plaque and tartar to hide, deepening the pocket and threatening the health of the bone around your teeth.
Drinking water helps to prevent cavities and gum disease by washing away dangerous germs and food debris. Water is beneficial to your teeth because it keeps your mouth clean. Plaque cannot form in a mouth that is clean and moisturized.
It's characterized by swollen and bleeding gums, a foul smell from the mouth, and may lead to periodontal problems. Regularly rinsing the mouth with apple cider vinegar helps prevent gum diseases. In addition, due to its acidic pH level, it prevents the growth and accumulation of bacteria between the teeth and gums.
Baking soda has antibacterial properties, so it can reduce the occurrence or accumulation of bacteria in your mouth that may cause decay or periodontal disease. Brushing with baking soda can help remove food remains that encourage bacterial growth.
If you have multiple pockets, your dentist may suggest a scaling and root planing treatment. This is a professional deep cleaning that removes tartar from both traditionally cleaned areas and root surfaces in hopes that the gums will tighten up afterward.
As gum disease progresses, this area starts to widen, creating a larger pocket where your toothbrush can't reach and bacteria can flourish. Once a pocket measures 4 to 5 mm deep, gum disease has started to develop. As the pocket size progresses between 7 and 12 mm, the condition becomes more difficult to treat.
There are two ways our gum pockets can get deeper. The first way involves the gum swelling from irritation, causing the gum pocket to become deeper and taller. Another way is due to bone loss around the teeth, at the base of the pocket. This makes the pocket grow deeper as well.
At home, brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing daily will go a long way in preventing plaque buildup. Advanced gum disease, also called periodontal disease, cannot be reversed. However, our dentists are able to mitigate the damaging effects of periodontal disease through scaling and root planing.
Many of our patients wonder if their early-stage periodontal disease will go away with regular oral hygiene; however, this is how you prevent it from developing. If you are already exhibiting signs of periodontal disease, you need a deep cleaning from our dental hygiene team to clean your teeth and gums best.