We dentists look at more than the health of your teeth during your dental visits. We also check the health of your gums. The health of gums is important because gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss. It’s also been linked to serious medical issues like heart disease and diabetes. We examine your teeth and gums during every single dental visit.

Gum disease will affect about 75 percent of people in the country. The earliest stages of gum disease are treatable, but the later stages of gum disease have no cure. In many cases, gum disease will cause the teeth to recede over time. And that’s what I want to tell you about today: gum recession. Gum recession is a problem that can increase your risk of tooth decay, but gum recession can also reduce the quality of your smile.

At Highland Advanced Dental Care, we have state-of-the-art ways to restore your gums and treat gum recession. Most dental offices do not have the capabilities to fix your gum recession issues. Typically, you’ll have to visit a periodontist — which is a dentist who specializes in restoring gums. Today I want to show you the different ways dentist can repair your gums and give you a healthy smile. I’ll compare two types of treatment and leave you to decide which is better for your oral health.

The traditional way to restore gum recession

Periodontists and skilled dentists have been restoring gums with traditional gum surgery and gum grafting for years. This surgery is typically very invasive and requires a good deal of recovery time. Many dentists still treat gum recession with traditional gum grafting. This treatment involves cutting a strip of the gum tissue on the roof of the mouth and then placing it on the gums. The new gum tissue is then stitched into place. This, of course, takes time to heal and there is a possibility of infection. The biggest disadvantage of traditional gum surgery is the need for scalpels and stitches. No one wants restorative dental work, especially if it requires scalpels or sutures. Luckily, traditional gum surgery is no longer the only way to treat gum recession.

Treat gum recession with noninvasive pinhole technique

Instead of painful gum surgery, our office uses a revolutionary new technique known as the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique. This technique is substantially different from traditional gum surgery, is less invasive, and takes much less time. Best of all, there is no need for scalpels or stitches. We simply numb the gums, make a small hole in the gums, and then we manipulate the gums into a more appropriate location. Once the gums are in place, we place collagen strips to keep the gums in place. You’ll feel only a little sensitivity after the procedure, but nothing close to the level of discomfort that comes with traditional gum surgery.

We can complete the pinhole technique in one quick dental visit. The procedure also instantly fixes your cosmetic issues!

Receding gums are bad for your health and bad for smile. If you have receding gums, there is a solution for you at our office. Call us today at 248-329-3552.