What are the Symptoms That Need to be Addressed?
Your bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth. If the periodontal disease develops and destroys supporting gum tissue and bone, your gums become inflamed, and pockets form around your teeth.
Bacteria and food particles begin to live in these pockets, causing more and more decay to your gums and teeth. Without treatment, the pockets become deeper and collect even more bacteria. Soon bone and gum tissue begin to decay as the acid from tartar destroys the living tissue. Eventually, you may lose your teeth or need to have them extracted.
How Do I Know if I Need Treatment?
Dr. Bruggeman can measure the depth of the pockets between your teeth and gums. We do the measurement during your annual cleaning. If he detects an issue, the first recommendation might be to practice better oral hygiene. We might recommend a periodontal pocket reduction if the problem is too advanced for at-home care or general dental cleaning.
What is Periodontal Pocket Reduction?
Periodontal pocket reduction, or PPR, is one of the most effective ways to treat advanced gum disease and restore your smile. It’s a minimally invasive procedure used to treat the soft tissues surrounding and protecting your teeth. The goal of PPR is to remove or clean the diseased or infected soft tissues from around your teeth. The PPR can help improve your oral health by treating periodontal disease and preventing it from progressing. It also helps to reduce gum inflammation.
The pocket reduction procedure involves folding back the gum tissue and removing the disease-causing bacteria. Once we remove the bacteria, the tissue is secured back into place. Dr. Bruggeman can also use ultrasonic scalar waves or lasers to remove the diseased soft tissues.
Sometimes it is necessary to smooth out the surface of damaged bone to limit any areas where bacteria can hide. Smoothing out areas of concern will also allow the gum tissue to better reattach to the treated, healthy bone. This is part of a procedure called scaling and root planing.
What to Expect After Treatment
Reducing pocket depth and eliminating existing bacteria are essential to help you maintain dental health. However, this alone may not be sufficient to prevent the disease from coming back. You also need to maintain reduced pockets with daily oral hygiene and continued professional help. This will decrease the chance of advanced periodontal disease coming back.
Contact Us Today to Get Started
Bruggeman Dental is a general dental provider that offers periodontal pocket reduction to patients in Thornton, CO. If you are concerned about the health of your gums, please call our office today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Bruggeman. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have and help you determine if this treatment is right for you.
Periodontal Pocket Reduction is performed here in our Thornton office. You won’t have to go anywhere else for treatment – we can take care of everything for you. Plus, this critical treatment is covered by most dental insurance plans.
Don’t wait until it’s too late – if you need this procedure, get started as soon as possible. We’ll help you get on your way to optimal dental health, including both your teeth and gums.
