Deep cleaning for deep pockets.
When your pockets are too deep to be managed with daily homecare or professional in-office cleaning, osseous surgery is often the next step. Typically osseous surgery is recommended when your pockets are 5 millimeters or more in depth, after scaling and root planing.
During osseous surgery, after administering a local anesthetic, our surgeons push back the gum tissue to remove disease-causing bacteria, toxins and tartar that have accumulated there.
In most cases, we also smooth irregular surfaces of the damaged bone to further limit areas where bacteria can thrive and hide. Reshaping the bone helps the gum tissue to reattach to your tooth, reducing pocket depth and improving the health of affected teeth.
Your gums are then put back in place, over the newly shaped bone, and sutured. The placement is higher on upper teeth and lower on the bottom teeth—closer to the roots than the gums. This may make teeth look “longer,” but it is all part of the healing process. Root sensitivity is common afterward, but is typically temporary.
While all this may sound like it would hurt, recovery from osseus surgery is relatively painless. Usually, over-the-counter analgesics are all that’s needed to manage post-operative discomfort.
To see if you’d benefit from osseus surgery, contact our offices at 248.901.0000 or visit our contact page.