Dental Implants

Dental implants are a great way to replace missing teeth and also provide a fixed solution to having removable partial or complete dentures. Implants provide excellent support and stability for these dental appliances.

Reasons for dental implants:

Replace one or more missing teeth without affecting adjacent teeth.
Restore a patient’s confident smile.
Restore chewing, speech, and digestion.
Restore or enhance facial tissues.
Support a bridge or denture, making them more secure and comfortable.

Call our office today at 214-467-7727 to schedule your consultation
to see if dental implants are right for you!

Periodontal Specialty

Scaling & Root Planing and Osseous Surgery

Helping you in the fight against gum disease, our periodontal treatments can be very essential. Periodontal bacteria destroy the gums and bones. Without a healthy gum and bone structure, your teeth become unstable and put you at risk for tooth loss.

Possible Signs and symptoms of Periodontal Disease:

Bleeding gums – Gums should never bleed, even when you brush vigorously or use dental floss.
Loose teeth – Also caused by bone loss or weakened periodontal fibers (fibers that support the tooth to the bone).
New spacing between teeth – Caused by bone loss.
Persistent bad breath – Caused by bacteria in the mouth.
Pus around the teeth and gums – Sign that there is an infection present.
Receding gums – Loss of gum around a tooth.
Red and puffy gums – Gums should never be red or swollen.
Tenderness or Discomfort – Plaque, calculus, and bacteria irritate the gums and teeth.

Scaling and root planing, otherwise known as conventional periodontal therapy, non-surgical periodontal therapy, or deep cleaning, is the process of removing or eliminating the etiologic agents – dental plaque, its products, and calculus – which cause inflammation, thus helping to establish a periodontium that is healthy and stable.

Surgery is generally done after most other treatments have been tried, but the pocket depth remains or has worsened over time. Osseous surgery is a procedure done when you have a pocket around a tooth (or teeth) that has not responded to other treatments. It is done in an effort to help you retain the tooth and create an environment that is easier for you to keep clean.

The surgical procedure is used to smooth and reshape the affected bone and create a shallow pocket that makes it more difficult for the more aggressive bacteria to survive. The surgery includes a thorough cleaning of the root surface. These steps make it harder for the bacteria to grow and multiply and to make it easier for the body to work toward self-repair.

Treatment of gum disease has become even more important to your body's health. Links have been found between periodontal disease and the increased risk of heart disease. Studies have also shown that prolonged gum disease may elevate your risk of stroke and pre-diabetes characteristics (higher-than-normal blood glucose levels leading to type II diabetes).

GUM GRAFT AND GUM LIFT

Gum Graft

If you have ever experienced gum recession around your teeth or felt like you had too much tooth showing, it may be a result of inadequate gum tissue around your teeth or dental implants.

The pink part of the gum tissue is the top part by the teeth. It is attached to the bone underneath. The dark part of the mouth under the tongue or in the cheek is called unattached tissue. You must have adequate attached tissue around teeth or dental implants. The way to increase this area or band of tissue is to add to it through gum grafting.

Adequate attached tissue is important in keeping a zone of health around your teeth and implants; it acts as a barrier to the bad bacteria that cause tooth loss. The tissue to be added can be harvested from your palate or we can use a donor source (Alloderm). The grafted material is then sutured next to and under the gum where tissue is to be added.

Gum Lift

A “gummy smile” detracts from the appeal of your natural smile and can lead to periodontal problems in the future. If your teeth appear stubby, short, or uneven, our doctors can perform a crown lengthening or cosmetic gum lift.

Crown lengthening or a cosmetic gum lift involves removing excess soft tissue to establish the correct cosmetic tooth proportions. In most cases, the underlying bone will have to be changed as well because the bone position determines where the gums will attach. If the bone is not changed, the gums can regrow and cover the teeth again. A cosmetic gum lift will expose more of your tooth and reveal your naturally beautiful smile. Our doctors may perform a crown lengthening prior to – or in conjunction with – crown placement to ensure the crown fits securely over your natural tooth. We also perform gum lifts after implant placement for cosmetic and oral health reasons.

Dental Implants and Bone Graft

If you have missing teeth, you now have several options you can choose from. Traditional bridges, dentures, and partial dentures provide a cosmetic alternative that will give the appearance of teeth with limited functionality. However, a more modern approach to replacing missing teeth is available — dental implants! Dental implants use durable, natural-looking restorations to replace missing teeth. Not only do these teeth look like real teeth, but also dental implants feel and function like real teeth. Patients generally have no (or very few) restrictions with dental implants.

Dental implants require an anchor to be placed in the patient’s jawbone to work properly. This anchor is used to place a beautiful restoration into its proper and permanent position where the missing tooth once was. Most patients are good candidates for dental implants, although some patients may require a bone graft due to insufficient bone density or strength at the implant site.

If you have questions or concerns about periodontal procedures, call our office today at 214-467-7727.