Categories: Gum Grafting

Pinhole Grafts Correct Receding Gums

When your gums recede due to periodontal disease, this could change the appearance of your smile and leave you vulnerable to serious oral health issues. Our team can offer a treatment using lasers and a unique treatment known as the Pinhole Surgical Technique. In today’s blog, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist talks about how we correct your receding gums!

The Causes of Gum Recession

How do your gums start to recede? When you develop a more advanced stage of periodontal disease, this could cause the tissues to pull away from the teeth and eventually uncover the root portions of the smile. Your teeth are now more vulnerable to tooth decay and dental infection. As the disease reaches the advanced periodontitis stage, this means the risk of tooth loss will increase too. Gum disease can be caused by poor oral hygiene, a diet high in sugar and starch, tobacco use, and untreated gingivitis. Along with the recession that makes your teeth appear long and uneven, you could also develop soreness, redness, and bleeding in the gums. Don’t ignore these possible warning signs, contact our team right away!

The Pinhole Surgical Technique

With the Pinhole Surgical Technique, we don’t need to rely on traditional gum grafting procedures, which involve removing tissues from other parts of your smile to cover the exposed portions of your teeth. Instead, our team will administer a local anesthetic or possibly sedation to ensure you are comfortable as we make a miniscule hole in the tissues and add a special collagen material. Our team then manipulates the tissues until they cover the root portions of the teeth, and we mold them to ensure proper symmetry and an attractive appearance. The process is minimally invasive and takes one visit to complete!

Treatment with Dental Lasers

Our team can also use dental lasers as part of the process, employing them to modify the gum and bone structure as needed to ensure optimal results, or to remove very diseased portions of the gums so healthy tissues can be used to cover the exposed portions of your smile. Lasers treat areas with precision to prevent damage to healthy structures, and do so comfortably. No need for scalpels or sutures, and you can likely return to your normal routine after a day or two of rest. If you have any questions about how our team will treat these oral health concerns with advanced laser technology, then contact our team today to learn more.