Periodontal Disease - Prevention

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Bone Graft. In some cases of severe bone loss, the surgeon may attempt to encourage regrowth and restoration of bone tissue that has been lost through the disease process. This involves bone grafting:

• The surgeon places bone graft material into the defect.
• The material may come from the patient (autogenous), from a cadaver (allograft), or from an animal such as a cow (xenograft). An autogenous graft is considered the best approach.
• The gum is then sewn back into place.
• During the next 6 - 9 months, the bone regrows in the jaw area helping to reattach the teeth to the jaw.

Guided tissue regeneration is a more advanced technique that may be used along with bone grafting:

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• A specialized piece of fabric called a barrier membrane is placed between the gum and the existing bone.
• The gum is then sewn over the fabric. The fabric prevents the gum tissue from growing down into the bone and allows the bone and the attachment to the root to regenerate.

Restorative and Cosmetic Treatments

Crown Lengthening. Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure performed to expose more of the tooth. It involves readjusting the gum and bone levels by removing small sections of bone and resewing the gums into a new position to allow more tooth exposure.

Dental Implants. For patients who have lost teeth to periodontal disease, dental implants are an option, although an expensive one. Dental implants are an artificial type of tooth root used to create permanent prosthetic teeth. Implants are screws placed into the jawbone. Prosthetic teeth are attached to the implant.

Review Date: 02/16/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).