How Can Curettage Treat Gum Infection


by Andy Lim - Date: 2007-01-26 - Word Count: 293 Share This!

Gum infection happens when plaque begins to form around your teeth. It will irritate your gums, causing them to become swollen. Your gums will also bleed easily. If you don't remove the plaque, it will become harder and turn into tartar which resides around the necks of the teeth. This can damage the tissue between the gum and the teeth. As a result, you may lose some teeth.

If you want to treat gum disease, you have to stop the disease where it starts. The most effective way to do that is to remove plaque. If the plaque becomes tartar, a periodontist can perform curettage. It removes damaged gum tissues in the infected pocket by way of scraping. This allows the gum tissues to heal.

Periodontists usually use this method when the tools of scaling and root planing cannot go deep enough to remove the tartar. Moreover, deep pockets make it more difficult for him to look for the tartar. Therefore, he cannot clean the tooth surface properly.

During the procedure, you will be given local anesthesia. Your periodontist will then separate the gums slightly from the teeth. This allows him to see the tooth surface clearly. Then with a curette, he scraps the tartar. He can also remove damaged tissues easily. Then he will stitch the gum back to the teeth. He may even use oral antibiotics to overcome gum infection.

Usually after curettage, you find the pockets shallower than before. So, cleaning the root surface becomes easier now. However, your teeth may not tolerate hot,cold, or sweet due to the larger gaps between the teeth.

If scaling and root planing can't help to treat gum infection, curettage can be another option. However if the pockets are over 5mm in depth, you may need open flap surgery.


Related Tags: gum disease, tartar, plaque, gum infection, scaling, root planing, curettage, bleeding gum

Andy Lim writes gum disease articles to help you stop the gum diseases from becoming worse. You can find more tips on how to reverse gum disease at his gum disease web site.

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