Your gums have the critical responsibility of covering your jaw bones and the roots of the teeth. Gum tissue provides a tight, protective seal around the teeth that stabilizes teeth and holds them in place, and creates a barrier to block bacteria from reaching the underlying bones.
With healthy gums, the distance between the end of the gum tissue and the tooth is anywhere from one to three millimeters. When the distance is larger, this indicates a receding gum line.
The gums may start to recede due to a number of factors, including natural aging, genetics, gum disease, aggressive tooth brushing or flossing, and smoking tobacco. Gum recession is dangerous and rather painful, as it exposes the tooth roots and leaves them more susceptible to damage and/or infection.
This is when gum rejuvenation is needed to restore damaged or missing gum tissue.
What is gum rejuvenation?
Pinhole gum rejuvenation is an innovative periodontal treatment that we’re proud to offer in Tampa and New Port Richey! One of our top periodontists, Dr. Stilley is trained and certified in the Pinhole Surgical Technique.
During this procedure, Dr. Stilley will create small holes in the gum line. This essentially “releases” the gum tissue, allowing it to be stretched over the exposed tooth roots. We then place small collagen strips through the new holes in the gum line to hold the gums in place while they heal and regrow.
Through pinhole gum rejuvenation, we promote the regrowing of gum tissue to treat receding gums.
Who needs gum rejuvenation?
We treat everyone on a case-by-case basis. Your smile is unique and it should be treated as such! To find out if you’re a candidate for pinhole gum rejuvenation, you can give us a call to describe your situation or schedule an appointment with us so we can examine your condition in person.
Simply put, if you have receding gums, you would likely benefit from pinhole gum rejuvenation. If gum disease is the cause of your receding gums, it’s critical that we treat the disease first before restoring the gums. Treating the gums while they’re still infected will be counterproductive and will result in the gums receding again after treatment!
We have to treat the source of the gum recession first. If you have mild gum disease, we may suggest a treatment, such as scaling and root planing before we can perform pinhole gum rejuvenation. Through scaling and root planing, we perform a deep cleaning of the tooth roots and the gum line to remove disease-causing bacteria.
Depending on the severity of your case, your periodontist may suggest periodontal pocket reduction surgery, regeneration surgery, or LANAP (laser assisted new attachment procedure) in place of or as well as gum rejuvenation.
We won’t know if gum rejuvenation surgery is best for you until we’re able to see you and assess your gums. First and foremost, our goal is to prevent the need for any surgery or rejuvenation procedures, through diligent gum care. We want you to keep your natural teeth and gums for a lifetime!
The best treatment is always prevention. Know the risk factors and signs of gum disease, and work to minimize or eliminate the risks to prevent the need for gum rejuvenation.
Still have questions about gum rejuvenation?
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions. We’re here to support you and your gums!
If you’re looking for a top periodontist in Tampa or New Port Richey, we’d love to meet you! Request an appointment today.
