What is a dental 'pellet'?

A dental pellet is a little piece of antibiotic (e.g., Arestin) that your dentist inserts into the gum pocket. It is used to treat periodontal disease.

Answer

There are three things it can be. They call them all "pellets" because they're shaped like pellets.

The first is the one our friend already discussed: antibiotic pellets used to treat periodontal disease.

Second are cotton pellets. They're the cylinders of cotton, so handy for many things including pushing the side of your mouth away from your gums for extra clearance and soaking up liquids (blood, saliva, whatever) in your mouth.

The third is really slick, and it's fairly recent. Someone invented a mold to make little pellets of amalgam restoration material. If you're doing a small restoration--a small tooth, a small cavity in a large tooth, whatever--you can make filling pellets and place them in the prepared site with tweezers.

First answer by Jmowreader. Last edit by Jmowreader. Contributor trust: 791 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 2 [recommend question].