The Health of Your Gums

Dr. Yen Tran, DMD focuses on improving the health of your entire mouth; when you think “dentist” you may associate them with teeth cleaning or procedures, but the health and wellness of your gums is just as important to the overall health of your mouth as the health of your teeth. Dr. Tran offers several periodontal procedures that treat issues dealing with the supportive tissues of the mouth surrounding your teeth.

Periodontal Procedures

In addition to cosmetic gum contouring, Dr. Tran offers the following procedures:

Gingival Flap Surgery: When you receive routine exams, you may remember part of the process where your dentist places a tool near each gum line of the tooth and announces a number. This measures the pocket depth around each tooth. In healthy patients, this number typically falls between one and three millimeters. For patients with periodontal “pockets” due to gum disease, this number is higher; that means the gums have begun to pull away from the tooth. Swift treatment through gingival flap surgery (or in some cases, root scaling and planing) helps to reverse the effects of periodontal disease. During this procedure, the gums are separated from the teeth so that your dentist can deep clean your teeth and teeth roots with special tools. Once teeth cleaning and restoration are complete, the gums are put back into place and stitched.

Guided tissue regeneration: This surgical technique aids in restoring damaged gum and bone tissue from periodontal disease. During this procedure, Dr. Tran uses bone grafting material and membranes to promote new bone growth in areas that are lacking density and volume.

Soft tissue grafting: Gum grafts are the answer for receding gum lines that leave teeth exposed and more vulnerable to sensitivity or decay. The three types of gum grafts include:

Connective-tissue grafts: as the most commonly performed treatment, this procedure sources soft tissues from underneath the roof of your mouth (called the palate) before stitching them into place in the area of gum recession. The incision in the palate is then closed.
Free gingival grafts: similar to a connective-tissue graft, this procedure sources soft tissues directly from the roof of the mouth, rather than from below the initial incision.
Pedicle grafts: rather than using the palate of the mouth as a source for soft tissues, pedicle grafts use gum tissue adjacent to the area requiring grafting, and simply extend the tissues to cover the area before stitching them in place.

At-Risk Patients

Periodontal treatments like the ones described above are necessary for those patients who have advanced stages of periodontal disease. With quick treatment, Dr. Tran can stop the growth and reverse effects of periodontal disease. In addition to patients with unsatisfactory at-home dental care, some people are pre-disposed to periodontal disease based on the following risk factors:

Age (nearly 70% of patients 65 and older have advanced periodontal disease)
Certain medications, such as anti-depressants or heart medications
Health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis
Obesity
Tobacco use

Questions? Contact our Acworth, GA Office

If you have questions about periodontal treatment, or how to improve the health of your gums, schedule a consultation with Dr. Tran. Our team can determine the health of your gums and whether you would benefit from periodontal treatment. To learn more, call us at 770-974-6868 or contact us online anytime.