Pocket Irrigation

Periodontal disease is a dental condition associated with inflamed and receding gums and loss of teeth. Pocket irrigation or oral irrigation is an effective procedure to clean the plaque from between the teeth (interdental) and inside the deep gum pockets (subgingival). This procedure helps in preventing bacterial colonisation in these regions of the oral cavity. The subgingival pockets may also be irrigated with antibacterial solutions to further reduce the population of oral bacteria. Pocket irrigation helps in cleaning deeper areas of the oral cavity where a toothbrush or a dental scraper may not reach.

Your hygienist may perform the procedure along with other dental procedures such as dental cleaning or pocket reduction surgery. Your hygienist will remove tartar (hardened plaques) or plaque from inside the gum pockets with special instruments. After these pockets are free of decayed material, antibacterial agent may be applied to reduce the remaining bacteria inside the pockets. A pocket irrigator involving water jet is then used to clean the pockets under the gums and interdental gaps.

Other benefits of pocket irrigation include:

• Prevention of bad breath (halitosis): Water jets used for irrigation can reach deep areas of gum pockets to remove decayed food particles and resolve the problem of bad breath
• Providing antibacterial therapy: Direct antibacterial therapy is an effective measure to treat bacteria inside the gum pockets