Once the correct diagnosis has been made, the overall objective of any periodontal therapy is to eliminate the gum disease or, at least, to control it. There are surgical and non-surgical treatments, but both usually begin with the cleaning of your teeth by Dr. Romans, a review of your oral hygiene procedures by our staff, and the correction of your functional bite. Then, a decision will be made as to which method of treatment best suits your situation and your objectives. The correction of your functional bite with bite adjustments is important to your comfort and to the success of your periodontal therapy (occlusal adjustments; see page on HEADACHES). An improper or an uneven bite will aid in the progression of your periodontal disease, will lead to the uneven wearing away of your teeth, breaking of porcelain crowns, and, can result in tooth fracture. This will be described to you in detail and done by Dr. Romans. This is a very important procedure. SURGICAL CARE Teeth that have extensive recession of gum tissue can be treated with gum grafting procedures. This usually produces 75% to 100% coverage of the exposed root surface. It's important to realize that every area of recession does not have to be grafted. This decision is made after your complete examination and consultation with Dr. Romans. He will give to you a detailed description of this procedure. Surgery to reduce the pocket depths is our most common surgical procedure and is done to help control your disease. If pocket depths are reduced, your oral hygiene should improve, and it will become easier to have your professional cleanings. The elimination or control of diseased pockets makes your restorative work easier for your general dentist, when making crowns, bridges, partial dentures, or the placing of dental implants (see page on DENTAL IMPLANTS). During surgery, the diseased or infected tissue is delicately removed from under the gum tissues and the root surfaces are cleaned extensively. These surgical procedures are done in our office under local anesthesia while you are under the influence of a mild, oral sedative. The surgery is very tolerable. You will walk in and walk out following your procedures. At no time is gum tissue surgically removed. Bone grafting to rebuild the bone that has been lost due to periodontal disease might be possible in certain situations. This decision is also made by Dr. Romans after a complete review of your case. Crown exposure surgery is a procedure that is done to prepare certain teeth for crowns (caps). Normally, this is reserved for teeth that have severe decay, advanced wear, or have been fractured. Before crowns cans be fitted, there must be enough tooth structure to hold the crown securely. This is the reason for surgically exposing more of the tooth. NON-SURGICAL PERIODONTAL THERAPY If you do not have extensive periodontal disease and you do not need large amounts of restorative dentistry, there is a chance that your case can be managed in a non-surgical manner. This will be determined by Dr. Romans after your examination and is accomplished through ultrasonic cleanings, regular tooth cleanings and polishing, good oral hygiene, and bite adjustments. After that is completed, you might need some minimal restorative work in the form of crowns, fillings, or bleaching (click here for more information). This non-surgical care almost never requires local anesthesia and usually can be finished in a minimal number of short appointments. Bite adjustments take at least two appointments. Discussions with our staff about the proper ways for you to clean your teeth will take place at each appointment. Back to top