3 Surgical Ways Gum Disease Is Treated

Having good oral care habits is the only way to prevent developing gum disease, but once you have it your dentist, someone like Dr. Scalzitti, will have to perform treatment for it. Gum disease will never go away on its own. In fact, in will only get worse if left untreated. Before you dentist will perform a surgical procedure to remove your gum disease, he or she will try non-surgical treatment methods. If these fail, the dentist will need to perform one of the following types of surgical options to remove the gum disease and repair the damage it has caused.

Flap Surgery/Pocket Reduction

Gum disease has many negative effects to the teeth and gums, including:

• Bleeding
• Receding of gums
• Loose teeth
• Infections
• Pockets between teeth and gums

Flap surgery/pocket reduction is the procedure your dentist may recommend if you have pockets developing in these areas. The goal of this procedure is to remove these pockets so you can avoid further damage to your teeth and gums. This procedure is completed with five primary steps, which are:

1. Cut incisions in affected gums
2. Fold gums away to access roots of teeth
3. Clean the roots, pockets, and surfaces that contain tartar
4. Contour the bone
5. Fold the gums back and sew them in place

This procedure will require anesthesia and may leave your gums and mouth sore for several days.

Bone Grafting

Another option your dentist may suggest is bone grafting. This option is often used when the damage from the gum disease is severe and has caused you to lose a lot of bone in your jaw. To complete this, your dentist will have to first determine how much bone you have lost. Next, the dentist must figure out what type of replacement bone to use for the procedure. There are several options, including:

• Taking bone fragments out of your mouth, hip, or other body part
• Using synthetic bones
• Using bones from animals

Bone grafting is often completed with flap reduction surgery too, but not always. Through this procedure, your dentist will be able to rebuild lost bone inside your mouth. Before this can be completed, the dentist will need to remove the plaque from your mouth. The bone is then fused to your existing bone, and the two bones are often held together with screws. The screws are removed after the bones fuse together.

Soft Tissue Graft

The third option used for treating gum disease is called a soft tissue graft. While there are different ways this is done, it is almost always done as a way to rebuild lost gum tissue. One of the effects of gum disease is thinning of the gums. As the gums thin, they lose the strength to hold the teeth in place. With a soft tissue graft, a dentist is able to build up the gums so they are stronger and healthier.

During a soft tissue graft, the dentist will do one of the following things:

• Tissue from the roof of the mouth is removed and stitched to your gums
• Tissue from under a flap in the roof of your mouth is removed and is placed under the gums to build them up
• Tissue from other parts of the mouth is removed and stitched to the gums

When you visit the dentist, he or she will tell you which method will work best for you. When this happens, at least you will know what the method involves, and this may help you feel less nervous about having the procedure completed. If you have not been to the dentist in a long time, but believe you have gum disease, make an appointment as soon as possible. It's easier to remove and repair minor cases of gum disease than major cases.