Non-Surgical Treatment

A conservative non-surgical treatment approach is always our first consideration to resolve your gum problems.  Germs (bacteria) and calculus that cause gum disease will be thoroughly removed by "root planing"  the root surfaces.  We teach you how to control the gum disease using a variety of productive and efficient cleaning techniques.  Constant effort in effective oral hygiene is required if we are to expect lasting success in your treatment.  Where necessary, we will adjust the bite (occlusal adjustment) to favor mobile and weakly support teeth.

Periodontal Surgery

If you're diagnosed with periodontal disease, periodontal surgery may be recommended. Periodontal surgery is necessary when the tissue around your teeth is unhealthy and cannot be repaired with non-surgical treatment. Following are the four types of surgical treatments:

• Pocket Reduction Procedures
• Regenerative Procedures
• Crown Lengthening
• Soft Tissue Grafts

Pocket Reduction

Your bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth like a turtleneck around your neck. When you have periodontal disease, this supporting tissue and bone is destroyed and pockets develop. Eventually, if too much bone is lost, the teeth will need to be extracted.

Over time, these pockets become deeper, providing a larger space for bacteria to live. As bacteria develop around the teeth, they can accumulate and advance under the gum tissue. These deep pockets collect even more bacteria, resulting in further bone and tissue loss. Eventually, if too much bone is lost, the teeth will need to be extracted.

A pocket reduction procedure may be recommended if you have pockets that are too deep to clean using daily at-home oral hygiene and professional periodontal maintenance cleanings.

During this procedure, your gum tissue is folded back and the disease-causing bacteria is removed before securing the tissue into place. In some cases, irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to limit areas where disease-causing bacteria can hide. This allows the gum tissue to better reattach to healthy bone.

What are the benefits of this procedure?
Reducing pocket depth and eliminating existing bacteria are important to prevent damage caused by the progression of periodontal disease and to maintain a healthy smile. Eliminating bacteria alone may not be sufficient to prevent disease reocurrence. Deeper pockets are more difficult for you and your dental care professional to clean, so it's important to reduce them. Reduced pockets and a combination of daily oral hygiene and professional maintenance care increases your chances of keeping your natural teeth – and decreases the chance of serious health problems associated with periodontal disease.

Regenerative Procedures

A regenerative procedure may be recommended when the bone supporting your teeth has been destroyed. These procedures can reverse some of the damage by regenerating lost bone and tissue.

During this procedure, your gum tissue is folded back and the disease-causing bacteria is removed. Membranes (filters), bone grafts or tissue-stimulating proteins can be used to encourage your body's natural ability to regenerate bone and tissue.

There are many options to enhance support for your teeth and to restore your bone to a healthy level. We will be happy to discuss those options with you.

What are the benefits of this procedure?
Eliminating existing bacteria and regenerating bone and tissue helps to reduce pocket depth and repair damage caused by the progression of periodontal disease. With a combination of daily oral hygiene and professional maintenance care, you'll increase the chances of keeping your natural teeth – and decrease the chances of serious health problems associated with periodontal disease.

Crown Lengthening Procedure

Periodontal procedures are available to lay the groundwork for restorative and cosmetic dentistry and/or to improve the esthetics of your gum line.

You may have asked us about procedures to improve a "gummy" smile because your teeth appear short. Your teeth may actually be the proper lengths, but they're covered with too much gum tissue. To correct this,  crown lengthening is performed.

Before crown lengthening	After crown lengthening

During this procedure, excess gum and bone tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth. This can be done to one tooth, to even your gumline, or to several teeth to expose a natural, broad smile.

Your dentist or orthodontist may also recommend crown lengthening to make a restorative or cosmetic dental procedure possible. Perhaps your tooth is decayed, broken below the gum line, or has insufficient tooth structure for a restoration, such as a crown or bridge. Crown lengthening adjusts the gum and bone level to expose more of the tooth so it can be restored.

After your orthodontist removes braces, they may recommend crown lengthening to remove the gum tissue that is covering up some of your teeth and therefore show-off your beautiful straight smile.

What are the benefits of this procedure?
Whether you have crown lengthening to improve function or esthetics, patients often receive the benefits of both: a beautiful new smile and improved periodontal health – your keys to smiling, eating and speaking with comfort and confidence.

Soft Tissue Grafts

Periodontal procedures are available to stop further dental problems and gum recession, and/or to improve the esthetics of your gum line.

Exposed tooth roots are the result of gum recession. Perhaps you wish to enhance your smile by covering one or more of these roots that make your teeth appear too long. Or, maybe you're not bothered by the appearance of these areas, but you cringe because the exposed roots are sensitive to hot or cold foods and liquids.

Your gums may have receded for a variety of reasons, including aggressive tooth brushing or periodontal disease. You may not be in control of what caused the recession, but prior to treatment your periodontist can help you identify the factors contributing to the problem. Once these contributing factors are controlled, a soft tissue graft procedure will repair the defect and help to prevent additional recession and bone loss.

Before soft tissue graft; recession	After soft tissue graft; recession

Soft tissue grafts can be used to cover roots or develop gum tissue due to excessive gingival recession. During this procedure, gum tissue is taken from your palate or another donor source to cover the exposed root. This can be done for one tooth or several teeth to even your gum line and reduce sensitivity.

What are the benefits of this procedure?
A soft tissue graft can reduce further recession and bone loss. In some cases, it can cover exposed roots to protect them from decay. This may reduce tooth sensitivity and improve the esthetics of your smile.

Sometimes when you lose one or more teeth, you can get an indention in your gums and jawbone where the tooth used to be. This happens because the jawbone recedes when it no longer is holding a tooth in place.  Not only is this indentation unnatural looking, it also causes the replacement tooth to look too long compared to the adjacent teeth.

The "defect" can be fixed with a procedure called ridge augmentation, recapturing the natural contour of your gums and jaw. A new tooth can then be created that is natural looking, easy-to-clean and beautiful.

Dental Implants
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