Medicated mouth rinse is often used to treat the root surfaces of the teeth after the dentist has thoroughly performed the periodontal treatment on those teeth. The purpose is to decrease the bacteria load in the periodontal pockets so that the normal healing process can occur to repair the diseased gum tissue. Peridex rinse is one kind of the medicated mouth rinse. It contains active ingredient chlorhexidine which is shown in clinical research that it is effective in killing the specific types of bacteria causing the periodontal disease and if used correctly, it can adhere to the root surface of the tooth so to prolong the effective anti-microbial action time.
The diseased gum tissue would be inflammed and swollen. The diseased gum tissue would detach itself from the tooth and as the result the gum pocket would deepen. The inflammation is caused by the bacteria growth around the root surface of the tooth and the gum pocket area. The non-surgical periodontal treatment would be to remove the plaque and calculus which is full of those bacteria. After removal of those plaque and calculus, the remaining bacteria is to be killed off by the medical mouth rinse. This is to maximize the healing potential of the gum tissue. Once the disease-causing bacteria is gone, the gum tissue can repaired itself and it will become more strengthened and reattach itself to the root surface of the tooth.
