If you are a candidate for periodontal surgery, Dr. Tran will instruct you on the full procedure and any tests or treatment you will require. The first stage of treating periodontal disease is to get the infection under control. Your teeth and gums will be thoroughly cleaned and the infection treated. After treating the infection, the damage caused to the gums and bones will be treated surgically.
When treating periodontal disease with surgery, it is important to know there are different types of surgical options. The doctor will determine which treatment option is best for you, based on a thorough evaluation of your condition.
Flap surgery, bone grafting, soft tissue grafts and laser surgery are all different treatment options for surgically addressing periodontal disease, once any infection has been treated. In flap surgery, the doctor makes small incisions in your gum, lifting sections of tissue. Tartar and bacteria are then removed and the gums are sutured back.
Bone grafting is often performed when gum disease has damaged the bone surrounding the root of the teeth. Bone grafting can be performed using small parts of your own bone, a donated bone or using a synthetic bone. This treatment can help prevent tooth loss and can even promote natural bone regrowth.
Soft tissue grafts involve the use of various grafting procedures, obtaining tissue from different sources and re-attaching them where needed. New gum tissue can then grow and develop upon the graft. This procedure is usually performed with local anesthesia. The doctor will provide you with special cleaning instructions afterwards to prevent further infection. Ibuprofen or a similar medication may be prescribed for any discomfort experienced from the procedure.
Laser Surgery or laser therapy, is performed through the use of a dental laser to access and remove the inflamed gum tissue from around the root of the tooth. Once the infected tissue is removed, the doctor will perform root scaling. Built up tartar and plaque below the gum line and around the root will be scraped off. Any rough spots on the root are smoothed out helping to prevent the attraction of further bacteria and infection. During the healing process the area between the gum and the root can regenerate. Benefits of periodontal laser therapy include, limited pain, bleeding and swelling, faster recovery and healing times, no general anesthetic is needed and the laser can precisely target the diseased areas.