Surgical Periodontal Treatments – Corpus Christi, TX

Gum Grafting

Gum tissue lost due to gum disease can’t grow back. To cover up the tooth roots that have been exposed by gum recession, we may perform a procedure known as gum grafting. A small amount of tissue is taken from elsewhere in your mouth (usually the roof) and transplanted to the area where the recession has occurred. It’s then stitched in place so that it can join with the surrounding tissue over time, thus reversing the damage done due to gum disease. 

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Bone Grafting

Without the stimulation of natural teeth, the bone in your jaw will start to resorb, or shrink. This can be a serious obstacle for implant surgery since dental implants need a sufficient amount of bone to join with. With bone grafting, we can take bone from another part of your body and transplant it to the area where dental implants need to be placed. Doing so encourages the body to create new bone tissue, rebuilding the jaw to the point where implant surgery is once again a viable option.

Crown Lengthening

Sometimes your dentist won’t be able to place a dental crown because the tooth in question is too short or has broken beneath the gum line. To make room for the crown, we can perform a crown lengthening procedure to remove the gum tissue that’s covering the tooth. This is a relatively simple procedure that does not require much post-operative care; after about four to six weeks, we should be able to clear you to receive a crown or another type of restoration.

Laser Periodontal Surgery

Soft-tissue lasers have given us new options for treating gum disease. Now we can use a laser to gently remove infected tissue while leaving the healthy parts of your gums alone. The laser will cause so little discomfort that it most likely won’t even be necessary for us to numb your mouth. Furthermore, the energy from the laser will cauterize any blood vessels that are exposed during the treatment; as such, there will be little to no bleeding afterward, and your mouth will heal at a far faster rate.

Gingivectomy

The pockets that form when the gums pull away from the teeth can make it difficult to thoroughly clean your mouth. To eliminate these pockets, we may perform a gingivectomy, which simply involves removing or reshaping loose gum tissue. This makes it easier for us to get rid of any plaque or tartar that has built up on the roots of your teeth. We can perform this procedure with a laser to keep you as comfortable as possible.

Frenectomies

Young children often suffer from an overdeveloped frenum (band of tissue) that stops them from moving their lips or tongue properly. Leaving this problem alone can lead to any number of developmental issues, which is why we recommend having a frenectomy performed as soon as possible. We’ll simply remove the unnecessary tissue so that your little one can move their mouth freely. The procedure is quick, and the discomfort is minimal; we’ll go out of our way to make it as stress-free for your child as possible.

Biopsies

If we find oral cancer symptoms, we recommend having a biopsy performed. A small sample of tissue will be taken from your mouth so that it can be examined more closely. This makes it possible to determine whether any abnormalities are truly a sign of oral cancer or if there’s another explanation. It’s important to have oral cancer diagnosed quickly; your chances of survival over the next five years will be much higher if treatment begins before the disease has a chance to spread.