Gum disease has traditionally been treated by eliminating the gum pockets by trimming away the infected gum tissue and by re-contouring the uneven bone. Although this is still an effective way of treating gum disease, new and more sophisticated procedures are used routinely today. One of these advancements is guided bone regeneration, also referred to as guided tissue regeneration. This procedure is used to stabilize endangered teeth or to prepare the jaw for dental implants. As periodontal disease progresses, pockets of degenerated bone develop in the jaw. These pockets can promote the growth of bacteria and the spread of infection. To address these pockets, Dr. Vasanthan, Dr. Yanni or Dr. Yi may recommend tissue regeneration. During this surgical procedure, the pockets are cleaned thoroughly, and a membrane is installed between the soft tissue and the pocket in the bone. Some of these membranes are bio-absorbable and some require removal. The membrane covers the pocket so that fast-growing soft tissue is blocked, and slower-growing bone can begin to grow, or “regenerate” itself.
The effectiveness of the procedure generally depends on the patient’s willingness to follow a strict postoperative diet and careful oral care. Drs. Vasanthan, Yanni or Yi will help you determine if bone regeneration surgery is right for you.
When gum recession is a problem or when some teeth or dental implants have thin gum tissue, gum augmentation procedures using various sophisticated and advanced plastic surgical techniques of the gums are an option. Gum grafting helps prolong the longevity of the teeth and dental implants.
Guided tissue regeneration is an advanced surgical technique which uses biological agents to help regenerate the bone and gum tissue lost due to gum disease. This procedure can also be done along dental implants which suffer from bone loss. Patients who go through this procedure will need to be on a 3 month recall.
Our state of the art diagnostic and planning technology gives us the ability to offer same day dental implant surgical services. We offer a variety of surgical options to restore and replace lost gum and bone tissue to help achieve a stable long term solution with dental implants and we partner with your dentist to accomplish these goals as your dentist will be the one to perform the crown process.
