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The American Dental Association recommends most patients to have a dental cleaning and exam every six months.
When the bacteria in your mouth is not regularly cleaned out, it will lead to the buildup of plaque (biofilm) on your teeth, especially around the edges of where your gums attach around the neck of your tooth. If not removed, this plaque eventually hardens into tartar, which you can’t brush off on your own. You’ll need a dentist or dental hygienist to remove it during a professional cleaning appointment. When left untreated, the toxins from bacteria will ultimately continue to adhere to your hardened tartar and cause inflammation in your gum tissue. This will create a condition referred to as gingivitis, the first stage of periodontal disease.
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. You can think of this phenomenon as a turtleneck sweater that begins to stretch out around your neck.
Suppose you’re experiencing any warning signs of gum disease, such as bad breath, bleeding, red and swollen gums, or receding gum tissue. In that case, it’s imperative to have your dental professional examine your mouth. Beyond a visual assessment of your gum tissue, your dental professional will measure the pocket depth around each of your teeth with a periodontal probe. This allows them to determine the presence of periodontal disease and how far it has progressed.
The National Institutes of Dental and Cranial Research (NIDCR) defines periodontal disease parameters as a tooth with at least one periodontal site with a pocket that’s 4 millimeters or more in depth and 3 millimeters or more in attachment loss. When the tissue that attaches the gum to the tooth breaks down, the gum will recede, and bone support of the tooth is lost, causing teeth to become loose.
The first step in treating gum disease is to see your dental professional and have your teeth professionally cleaned. Also referred to as scaling and root planing, by removing the tartar and plaque buildup, this cleaning gives your gums a chance to tighten again around your teeth. If you have no significant bone loss, this may be the only treatment you need. However, in cases where deep pockets in your gums remain, your dental professional could recommend surgical treatment to stabilize your periodontal condition.
Another nonsurgical treatment is to use topical or oral antibiotics to get your bacterial infection under control. If you require more advanced treatment, several types of surgery can remove infection and reduce your gum pockets. These include flap surgery, soft tissue grafts or bone grafts, and guided tissue regeneration.
Periodontal disease is very preventable. By keeping up with regular dental visits and a consistent home-care routine, you’re doing everything you can to mitigate your chances of developing periodontal pockets. Healthy gums have a shallow pocket that is easy to keep clean, measuring only one to three millimeters in depth.
Here’s how you can keep your gum pockets shallow and easy to clean:
Diagnosing and treating periodontal disease in its early stages can eliminate unhealthy periodontal pockets. Treatment will curb its effect before it progresses to severe bone loss. Luckily, there are plenty of at-home measures you can take to prevent periodontal disease. But if you do need treatment, there are several nonsurgical and surgical options. Regardless of whether you have a very early stage of gum disease or are at the point of requiring surgery, a lifelong commitment to a vigorous oral care routine will be imperative for your future smile!
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