cosmetic periodontal procedures

surgical periodontic procedures

Changing the appearance of your gums can cosmetically enhance your smile. Your gums define your teeth…we can adjust this relationship making teeth look longer, shorter, even better shaped to provide a more attractive smile. Cosmetic Periodontics can make replacement teeth look more natural and improve the appearance of natural teeth.

Soft Tissue Grafting

Exposed tooth roots are the result of gum recession. Perhaps you wish to enhance your smile by covering one or more of these roots that make your teeth appear too long. Or maybe you’re not bothered by the appearance of these areas, but you cringe because the exposed roots are sensitive to hot or cold foods and liquids. Maybe you have a frenum or “muscle pull” that is pulling on the gum causing further recession and tenderness.

Your gums may have receded for a variety of reasons, including aggressive tooth brushing or periodontal disease. You may not be in control of what caused the recession, but prior to treatment, Dr. Bye can help you identify the factors contributing the problem. Once these contributing factors are controlled, a soft tissue graft procedure will repair the defect and help to prevent additional recession and bone loss.

During this procedure, Dr. Bye will take gum tissue from your palate or another donor source (AlloDerm, see below) to cover the exposed root. This can be done for one tooth or several teeth to cover your roots and reduce sensitivity. If you have existing fillings or crowns, these can be removed and the soft tissue grafting performed over these root surfaces.

Gum Grafting Overview

For a brief narrated overview of the gum grafting process, please click the image on the right. It will launch our flash educational MiniModule in a separate window that may answer some of your questions about gum grafting.

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Soft Tissue Grafting can stop further recession and provide a zone of dense tough tissue to help prevent future recession. Coverage of the roots reduces root sensitivity, reduces risk of root decay, and enhances appearance. Failure to correct this problem leaves you at risk for additional gum recession, root decay and potential tooth loss.

AlloDerm Grafting

In some cases, we are now using AlloDerm rather than the patient’s palate for soft tissue grafting. AlloDerm has been shown to be equivalent to palatal connective tissue. Use of this tissue avoids discomfort, and fear associated with the use of palatal donor tissue. You and Dr. Bye will discuss which option (palatal tissue vs. AlloDerm) is best for you.

AlloDerm is a sterile human connective tissue matrix that contains no blood and no cells. Therefore, there is no risk of rejection or potential for disease transmission. This tissue matrix has been in use in medicine and dentistry for nearly ten years, and there have been no cases or disease transmission in over 500,000 transplants. We have been using AlloDerm for soft tissue grafting for over six years now and the results and patient acceptance have been outstanding.

The latest advance in soft tissue grafting is the addition of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) to the surgical site. This provides numerous growth factors, which accelerate healing, reduce swelling, and minimize post-operative discomfort.

AlloDerm acellular dermal connective tissue graft can be used not only to cover roots, but for treatment of amalgam tattoos, or blackish-blue marks, in the gum tissue.

Soft Tissue Ridge Augmentation

Do you have a fake tooth on your bridge that looks too long? You may be a candidate for Soft Tissue Ridge Augmentation utilizing AlloDerm. In this procedure, AlloDerm can be used to plump out an area in your gums where you have previously lost a tooth. After a tooth has been lost, the bone and gum collapses resulting in a large defect, or indentation, where the tooth used to be. Your family dentist can then fabricate a new bridge that looks normal and much more esthetic.

Frenectomy

The frenum is a fold of tissue that attaches from the lips, cheek, or tongue to the jawbone. Sometimes a frenum is attached too high on the gums. This can cause recession or spaces between teeth. The tissue attachment between the two front teeth is called a midline frenum. The removal of this tissue attachment is called a frenectomy.

Some people have a large frenum under the tongue. This can limit tongue movement and interfere with swallowing and speech (also called being”tongue-tied.) The removal of this tissue is a lingual frenectomy.

Some adults require frenectomies when they are receiving dentures. The position of a frenum can interfere with the proper fit of the denture.

Esthetic Crown Lengthening

When you smile, do short, unsightly teeth and excessive gums bother you? Although your teeth appear short, they may actually be the proper length. The teeth may actually be covered with too much gum and bone tissue. We can correct this by performing a periodontal plastic surgery procedure, called Esthetic Crown Lengthening.

During this procedure, excess gum and bone tissue is reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth. Esthetic Crown Lengthening can be done to more than one tooth to create a beautiful smile.

This procedure enhances your smile as well as your overall facial appearance. This procedure may preclude the necessity for orthognathic surgery and may be performed during or after orthodontic treatment.

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