Periodontal Probing

Periodontal probing is a routine part of your dental cleanings, and while it might seem a little strange, it’s actually an important part of keeping your gums healthy. During this procedure, your dentist or hygienist uses a small, thin tool called a “periodontal probe” to measure the space between your gums and your teeth. This space is called a “gum pocket” or “periodontal pocket,” and the measurements help the dentist understand the health of your gums and the bone around your teeth.

Why does the dentist do this during cleanings? The main reason is to check for gum disease. Healthy gums usually have a very small gap between the gums and the teeth, typically 1-3 millimeters deep. If the gap is deeper, it could mean that there’s gum disease present. As gum disease progresses, it causes the gums to pull away from the teeth, creating deeper pockets. This is a sign that bacteria are building up beneath the gum line, which could lead to further problems like infection, bone loss, or even tooth loss.

Here’s what the periodontal probing tells your dentist:

• Signs of Gum Disease: If the pockets are shallow (1-3 millimeters), your gums are probably healthy. But if the pockets are deeper, it suggests that there might be gum disease, also called periodontal disease. For instance, pockets between 4-5 millimeters indicate early gum disease, and pockets 6 millimeters or deeper are a sign of more advanced gum disease.
• Severity of Gum Disease: The depth of the pockets helps the dentist understand how serious the gum disease might be. The deeper the pockets, the more likely it is that the disease is affecting the bone around your teeth, not just the gums.
• Bone Health: As gum disease progresses, it can cause the bone that holds your teeth in place to shrink or deteriorate. By measuring the gum pockets, the dentist can get a sense of whether there’s any bone loss happening around your teeth. This is important because losing bone can make your teeth less stable and may lead to tooth loss if untreated.
• Effectiveness of Treatment: If you’ve had previous treatment for gum disease, periodontal probing helps your dentist track how well your gums are healing. If your gum pockets have gotten smaller, it’s a sign that your gums are improving. If they’re getting deeper, it might indicate that you need further treatment or more frequent cleanings to control the disease.