About gum diseases and aesthetic surgery
A specialist in gum disease treatment is called a periodontist, or parodontist, and the speciality – periodontology, or parodontology. Our specialist is Professor Moshe Goldstein.
This type of diseases is the main cause for teeth loss. The main problem with these diseases is that inflamed gums break their connection with the root of the respective tooth, and bone in this area is destroyed. Hence, a free space is formed – a periodontal pocket of varying depth where tartar is accumulated. This leads to further inflammation, which, in turn, aggravates the process of destruction and increase of periodontal pocket depth until the respective tooth's connection with the bone is completely lost.
The problem with gum diseases is that:
A. They directly affect our general health condition.
B. They are directly related to the development of certain chronic diseases of joints, heart, etc.
C. Patients usually have no idea of the presence of such a problem. When a tooth is carious, the patient will, sooner of later, feel pain, while gum diseases can have a chronic and asymptomatic course, with no intense pain, increased sensitivity or bleeding. As a result, patients often ignore these problems, and usually come for treatment in advanced stage of teeth stability loss.
D. Difficult early diagnostics by a non-specialist.
The way to solve these problems is to get examined by a specialist and have an individual gum treatment and correction plan prepared, which is usually a part of the plan for you new smile.
Treatment stages are most often the following:
- Removal of dental tartar and plaque in one or several visits. This is a curative and preventive procedure, which is an essential tool in the fight with periodontal diseases. It needs to be performed uniformly at every 3-6 months depending on the condition. This curative procedure is painless, and does not damage and take away any dental tissue. It is combined with training and motivating patients to achieve proper oral hygiene with the purpose of maintaining their health. In certain mild cases treatment can end at this stage, or proceed to the next stages.
- Correction or replacement of all defective restorations. Sometimes removal of retention points for incorrectly or improperly elaborated crowns, bridges, etc. is also necessary.
- Curettage of root surfaces of teeth. Performed under local anaesthesia in 2, 4 or 6 visits. Often used for gum disease treatment. It can also be applied in combination with local or general drug treatment. For most of our patients who suffer from periodontal diseases, gum treatment is finished if they stick to a high oral hygiene standard.
Surgical treatment. Gums are detached under local anaesthesia. Infected bone and soft tissue is cleared, subgingival tartar is removed, and gums are sewn up. This stage is undergone by patients at more severe disease stages.
We can proceed with additional curative procedures envisaged in your individual treatment plan only after full completion of periodontal treatment.
Aesthetic gum corrections (soft tissues) are sometimes an obligatory formation stage for your new smile. This is what periodontal plastic surgery deals with, and it is usually performed by a specialist periodontist.
The most commonly performed procedures are:
- Recession correction. Recession is when gums recede for various reasons, as a result of which a part of the root (roots) of the tooth becomes visible. Therefore, the tooth becomes noticeably “longer”, sometimes with increased sensitivity and pain. Gums, bones and teeth are interrelated. For that reason, when root recession occurs, the level of the bone that supports the tooth lowers, changing aesthetics and increasing the tooth's mobility. Aesthetic correction is performed by tissue transfer or grafting. This way, development of the existing recession is prevented, and the desired aesthetic effect is achieved.
- Lengthening of the clinical (visible) crown of teeth. Applied for smiles where too much gingival tissue is visible in a pronounced and disproportionate way. This issue is corrected by controlled modification of gum line level and proportionate aesthetic lengthening of teeth's crowns. This technique is used for asymmetrical gum level correction of adjacent teeth or for severely damaged teeth lacking sufficient healthy dental tissue for placement of crowns.
AND REMEMBER – YOU ARE A PART OF THE TEAM, AND YOU ASSUME THE OBLIGATION AND RESPONSIBILITY TO FOLLOW ALL OF OUR GUIDELINES! THE SUCCESS OF TREATMENT AND, MORE SPECIFICALLY, OF GUM TREATMENT IS ONLY UP TO YOU!