Editing Periodontal disease (section)

=== Periodontal probing ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
Dentists and dental hygienists measure periodontal disease using a device called a [[periodontal probe]]. This thin "measuring stick" is gently placed into the space between the gums and the teeth, and slipped below the gumline. If the probe can slip more than {{convert|3|mm|abbr=on}} below the gumline, the person is said to have a gingival pocket if no migration of the epithelial attachment has occurred or a periodontal pocket if apical migration has occurred. This is somewhat of a misnomer, as any depth is, in essence, a pocket, which in turn is defined by its depth, i.e., a 2-mm pocket or a 6-mm pocket. However, pockets are generally accepted as self-cleansable (at home, by the person, with a toothbrush) if they are 3&nbsp;mm or less in depth. This is important because if a pocket is deeper than 3&nbsp;mm around the tooth, at-home care will not be sufficient to cleanse the pocket, and professional care should be sought. When the pocket depths reach {{convert|6|to|7|mm|abbr=on}} in depth, the hand instruments and ultrasonic scalers used by the dental professionals may not reach deeply enough into the pocket to clean out the microbial plaque that causes gingival inflammation. In such a situation, the bone or the gums around that tooth should be surgically altered or it will always have inflammation which will likely result in more bone loss around that tooth. An additional way to stop the inflammation would be for the person to receive subgingival antibiotics (such as [[minocycline]]) or undergo some form of gingival surgery to access the depths of the pockets and perhaps even change the pocket depths so they become 3&nbsp;mm or less in depth and can once again be properly cleaned by the person at home with his or her toothbrush.