Family Smiles
Scaling and Root Planing
Advanced gum disease sometime requires the dentist to clean below the gum line to remove stubborn, crusty deposits called tartar or calculus, and to remove damage near the tooth root. This is done to prevent further damage and restore and stabilize the tooth.
For some patients, a local anesthetic is administered to the affected area. Then, a small scaling instrument and/or ultrasonic cleaning device are used to remove the deposits.
After cleaning, the root may need to be smoothed, or planed, to restore it as much as possible to its original shape. Planing also allows your gum tissue to better attach itself and heal properly.
Flap Surgery
Some people have problems with gums that don't conform to their teeth as well as they should. Gums should be snug around the base of teeth so the teeth can be anchored firmly and grow properly.
Conditions such as prolonged or untreated gum disease can actually cause gums to separate from teeth and form opportunistic pockets for bacteria and other debris; decay can also cause further deterioration. Left untreated, these pockets can lead to serious infections that cause bone loss, making tooth extraction very likely.
A procedure called pocket reduction, or flap surgery, was developed to correct this problem. The procedure involves scraping away hard deposits such as tartar or calculus and reshaping damaged bone, with the eventual goal of reducing the size of the pocket and allowing the tissues to firm up around the teeth.620
Grafts
Soft tissue grafts are small pieces of tissue taken from other areas such as the palate and surgically implanted in the affected area. Grafts can correct dental deformities and other problems such as severe gum disease, as well as cover exposed roots, stop bone loss, the recession of gums, and even reduce pain-causing root sensitivity.
Replacement of lost gum tissue
Gum tissue can be augmented or replaced by a variety of means, including soft tissue grafts.
Ridge Augmentation
A procedure that can shore up dents and other abnormalities in your gum line.
Excessive or uneven gums
Gum lifts or soft tissue grafts can be used to even gum lines, or cover an exposed root.