Pocket Depth Reduction – Osseous Surgery

Oral bacteria naturally accumulate around your teeth and form complex communities that, in predisposed individuals, contributes to deterioration of the supporting gum tissue and bone that stabilizes and protects your teeth. This results in “pocket” formation, resorption of the jaw bone, and the development of periodontitis. The deeper the pocket, the larger the space for bacteria to live and potentially contribute to tooth mobility and tooth loss.

If pocket reduction therapy is recommended, it means that your pockets are too deep to be effectively cleaned by you with daily brushing and flossing, or even by your hygienist. In order to restore your oral health, the periodontist will gently reflect the gum tissue and remove the disease-causing bacteria and hard deposits on the teeth before securing the tissue into place. At the same time, irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to limit areas where disease-causing bacteria can hide. This allows the gum tissue to better reattach to healthy bone. In some cases, the application of growth factors, bone grafts and membranes are necessary to stimulate regeneration of bone and tooth supporting tissue before securing the tissue back into place. This procedure is usually very well tolerated and most patients are back to work the following day.