If you go to the dentist and find out that some areas in your mouth have deep pockets, you may wonder what this means. Deep pockets is a term dentists use when they examine your gums, and having deep pockets is not a good thing. Here are a few things you should understand about deep pockets in your gums.
What the role of gums in your mouth is
The gums in your mouth are there for several reasons, but the main purpose is to hold your teeth in place and protect their roots. When gums are healthy, they are snug around the teeth. Your gums also protect the bottoms of the teeth and their components. There are nerves inside your teeth to help you feel hot and cold foods and drinks. When the gums are healthy, they do a great job at keeping these nerves covered up and protected.
What deep pockets are
When gums are healthy, they will typically have no pockets or very small pockets. The size of the healthy pockets should be one to three millimeters. This represents the distance from the tooth to the gums. If this distance increases, it means that the gums have pulled away from the teeth too far, and this is what deep pockets refer to. Deep pockets, therefore, represent the area that could contain gums but does not because the gums have receded.
Dentists measure these areas with a small hand-held device called a probe. The probe measures the areas and can help the dentist find out if there is a problem. If you discover you have deep pockets, it is a sign that you have periodontal disease. Periodontal disease can cause your jawbone mass to deteriorate, and it could cause you to lose some of your teeth.
How dentists treat deep pockets
If you have deep pockets, your dentist might recommend a procedure called scaling and root planing. This procedure is basically a deep-cleaning method that cleans out the areas where the teeth and gums meet. It helps remove plaque and tartar in these areas, and it is often the only treatment needed if the deep pockets are discovered at an early stage.
If your condition is really severe, scaling and root planing might not be enough. Instead, you might need to have surgery to repair these areas in your mouth.
To learn more about the condition and health of your gums, contact professionals like Periodontal Specialists.
Share20 December 2016
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