Possible Treatments Needed In Addition To Gum Pocket Cleaning

If you have unhealthy gums and want to enhance the health of the tissues as much as possible, then it is wise to speak with a dentist about the possible treatments that are available. One of the more common treatments is called a gum pocket cleaning or reduction procedure. This can help to encourage healing as well as tightening, but you probably are going to need to get some additional treatments along with the cleaning. Keep reading to learn about a few of them.

Antibiotic Treatment

Gum disease is an ailment that is caused by infection. Particularly, bacteria infect the tissues and the gums then swell and detach from the sides of the teeth. The formed pockets are cleaned out by the dentist, but they need some time to adhere to the teeth once again. As the healing process progresses, the pockets can collect food and bacteria once again, allowing for a new infection to develop. To prevent this problem, antibiotic treatments are required. Not only do the medications help to reduce the chances of new infections developing, but they aid in the initial healing process. 

Antibiotics can be provided orally, but dentists will often place antibiotic gels or chips directly in the open gum pockets. This way, the source of the infection can be treated directly, and the medication can release slowly to minimize future infection issues. 

If gum pockets are relatively small, then you may be asked to use a rinse instead. Rinses, like chlorhexidine varieties, contain the same kinds of medication as the chips and gels. Use for one week to ten days is common with the products. 

Mesh Guided Tissue Formation

In some cases, the gum pockets have pulled away so far from the teeth that there is not enough tissue left to fill in the gaps. This is a problem with long term gum disease, serious cases of infection, and when bone loss has set in. There are several techniques that can be used to address the problem, including gum grafting procedures. 

Your dentist can also use a mesh guided tissue regeneration process. This involves the placement of a film or mesh that supports the gum tissues above the jaw. The gum tissues can then form a thicker structure while the bone also regenerates and aids in the support. 

Meshes will disintegrate over time as the body starts to form new tissues. However, if the bone is unable to develop before the mesh disappears, a bone grafting procedure may be required in the future. 

For more information about treatment options, contact a local dental clinic like Lake Pleasant Dentistry. 

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