We offer a wide range of periodontal procedures that can treat periodontal, or gum, disease in damaged hard and soft tissues in the mouth. Periodontal procedures are typically performed to save or rebuild the jaw bone and/or gums in order to save teeth or allow for the placement of dental implants. They can also enhance your smile by correcting problems like long or short teeth, uneven gum lines, receding gums, exposed roots, and indentations in the gums or jawbone.
If gum disease is diagnosed and treated early, the condition can be reversed, and tooth loss can usually be prevented. If you think you may have gum disease, it is essential that you schedule an appointment for an evaluation right away. If our doctors detect gum disease during your visit, they will help improve your home oral care and recommend specialized treatment options in our office to eliminate the disease. In some cases, we may refer to a local periodontist if we feel our patient would benefit from more extensive treatment or needs a gingival or bone grafting.
Periodontal Maintenance Program
Home care is an extremely important part of maintaining healthy teeth and gums, but even excellent home care cannot prevent bacteria and plaque. If the plaque is not removed, it can harden, becoming calculus. We will recommend a periodontal maintenance program that is best for you based on how quickly you develop calculus and your past and current periodontal health. During your maintenance visits, we will perform an oral examination as well as a dental cleaning.
Scaling and Root Planing
Scaling and root planing is a non-surgical procedure used to treat gum disease. During the scaling process, specialized dental instruments are used to remove dental plaque and calculus from beneath the gums. Planing is the procedure used to smooth the tooth’s root after the scaling process. Root planing helps the gums heal and reattach themselves to a cleaner and smoother root surface.
Arestin®
ARESTIN® is a locally applied antibiotic that delivers minocycline microspheres in the form of a powder. It is placed directly into the infected periodontal pocket at the time of scaling and root planing procedures for easy, targeted treatment. The microspheres adhere to the surrounding surfaces to provide a sustained release of the antibiotic at the site of active infection for effective treatment. It is used in pocket depth reduction and may be used as part of a periodontal maintenance program.
Benefits of ARESTIN® include:
- No local anesthesia required
- No adhesive required
- No dressing required
- No need for removal as the microspheres are completely bioresorbed
- Remains active in the pocket for an extended period of time
Crown Lengthening
Gum Grafting
Gum grafting treats root exposure resulting from receded gum tissue. Tissue is removed from the roof of the mouth or gum tissue near the tooth and stitched into the area needing gingival repair.
During gum grafting, tissue is surgically placed to cover as much of the exposed root area as possible. A tissue flap is often created to join the added tissue to the existing gums and facilitate tissue growth and healing. This procedure may be used to treat one or several adjacent teeth at the time of the surgery.
Bone Grafting
Bone grafting is the replacement or enhancement of bone around teeth. When a tooth is lost, the surrounding bone collapses. Bone grafting is performed to reverse bone loss or enhance bone. The bone can be taken from parts of the body or from synthetic material. Bone grafting allows for proper support of dental implants or prostheses.