The main cause of periodontal disease is bacteria. Bacteria is a form of a sticky, colorless plaque that constantly forms on your teeth. However, many factors can cause periodontal disease or influence its progression.

Your bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth like a turtleneck around your neck. 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 breeding ground for bacteria. As bacteria develop under the gums, it begins to eat away the the jawbone. These deep pockets collect even more bacteria, resulting in further bone loss. Eventually, too much bone is lost, and the teeth become loose.

Your periodontist has measured the depth of your pocket(s) (see figures 1 and 2). A pocket reduction procedure has been recommended because you have pockets that are too deep to clean with daily at-home oral hygiene and a professional care routine.

Once you are completely numb, Dr. Korn will test to make sure you feel nothing where the work is to be preformed. Utilizing the latest microsurgical techniques the gums are reflected away from the teeth without cutting any healthy tissue away. In some cases, irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to remove infected bone where disease-causing bacteria can hide. This allows the gum tissue to reattach to healthy bone.

What are the benefits of this procedure?
Reducing pocket depth and eliminating existing bacteria are important to prevent damage caused by the progression of periodontal disease and to maintain a healthy smile. Eliminating bacteria alone may not be sufficient to prevent disease recurrence. Deeper pockets are more difficult for you and your dental care professional to clean, so it's important for you to reduce them. Shallow pockets and a combination of daily oral hygiene and professional maintenance care increase your chances of keeping your natural teeth - and decrease your chances of serious health problems associated with periodontal disease.

Treatments

Periodontal Surgery || Pocket depth Reduction || Soft tissue grafts