When you think about the landscape of your smile, your gums are prime real estate. In fact, you may not realize how valuable your gums are until you don’t have enough. Once the gums recede or are diseased, they just don’t grow back, and the consequences are both unattractive as well as unhealthy.

Receding gums can have a negative impact on the overall appearance of your smile. The teeth tend to look longer, and the exposed root surfaces are generally darker in color and rougher in texture than the rest of the enamel. Aside from the cosmetic impact of receding gums, the teeth are more sensitive to temperature and other stimuli and also more prone to cavities and staining.

With the expert help of your periodontist, you’ll find that you can control or correct your receding gums in order to improve the state of your oral health.

The first step in addressing the issue of receding gums is to arrange a comprehensive periodontal evaluation. Your periodontist can determine the extent of the recession, and then recommend preventive therapy or surgical intervention.

The gums are thin and delicate tissues that can be destroyed by plaque buildup, abrasive brushing, or an unbalanced bite. Recession can even occur when the ligaments connecting the lips to the gums pulls too tightly. Identifying and eliminating these factors can often prevent the gums from receding any further.

For more advanced cases of recession, surgical intervention can prevent further damage as well as repair existing damage. Most of these surgical procedures can be completed in the dental office with the help of modern techniques, laser dentistry, local anesthetics, and sedation if necessary.

Following the appropriate treatment for the recession, you will receive specialized instructions for controlling the health of the gums. Your home care habits will be evaluated, you may receive recommendations for certain oral hygiene products, and you may be advised to schedule more frequent periodontal checkups.

You may not be able to control receding gums on your own. For professional help, contact any of our experienced periodontists for an appointment today.

When you think about gum disease, it’s normal to think about signs and symptoms such as bad breath, bleeding, and tartar buildup. However, it is important that you know that the true extent of this chronic disease spreads far beyond the surface. The irreversible damage caused by gum disease can destroy the very structures that literally hold your smile together.

Bone loss, gum recession, and ligament damage are the unfortunate consequences of advanced gum disease. Although you may not be able to see or feel this damage occurring, the changes can create a chain reaction of complications that can be almost impossible to control without professional help.

Fortunately, your periodontist specializes in a number of therapeutic procedures that are designed to stabilize your condition while making your home care efforts more effective.

One such procedure, known as periodontal osseous surgery, has proven to be especially helpful in the fight to control gum disease. Sometimes the destruction caused by gum disease leaves the underlying bone jagged and uneven. This creates deep pockets beneath the gumline that are often extremely difficult to access with toothbrushes and floss. It is within these pockets that plaque and bacterial toxins can remain undisturbed despite your best efforts to control them.

Osseous surgery effectively eliminates defects, and irregularities of the bone in order reduce deep pockets and simplify oral hygiene. In a sophisticated same-day procedure, your periodontist will use local anesthetics to numb the gum tissue. Next, the gum tissue will be gently pulled away from the teeth and the area will be cleaned thoroughly to remove diseased tissue and tartar buildup. The damaged surface of the bone will be smoothed and recontoured, and the gum tissue will be repositioned. Sutures and/or surgical dressings will be used to stabilize the tissues as they heal.

The elimination of periodontal pockets and the smooth contour of the bone will improve your ability to access plaque bacteria between the teeth and under the gumline. To find out if periodontal osseous surgery can improve your oral health, contact our experienced team of periodontists for an evaluation today.