Whether you are suffering from an infection form of gum disease or are looking for advanced periodontist procedures to save your teeth or place a dental implant, Dr. Ravon in Beverly Hills performs some of the most current gum disease treatments to ensure the health of all your teeth and your entire mouth.
To learn more about what sets board-certified periodontist Dr. Nicolas A. Ravon and his practice apart, please call (310) 275-5325 or email us for an appointment.
Scaling and Root Planing Non-Surgical Gum Disease Treatment
After general hygiene, scaling and root planing is the most common gum disease treatment. Scaling removes plaque, calculus, and stain from the crown and root surfaces of teeth. The procedure involves cleaning the root of the tooth below the gum, which because it is softer than the enamel of the tooth, is more easily affected by the build-up of plaque, tartar, and other inflammatory agents. Root planing is the second part of the procedure in which your tooth root is smoothed to reduce the risk of gum disease and promote healthy gums.
Chemotherapeutic
Periodontal chemotherapy is a gum disease treatment that picks up where physically removing plaque and tartar below the gum line leaves off. When gum disease in specific areas remains unresponsive to conventional therapy, additional treatment using controlled-release, anti-bacterial and other agents, can be extremely beneficial.
Sometimes gum disease causes deep pockets between teeth and gums that make it difficult to remove plaque and tartar entirely. Placing an antibiotic in the affected pockets, in conjunction with scaling and root planing, can help to control infection and encourage healing. In addition, irrigation with anti-microbials (special mouth rinses) can help to control the growth of the bacteria that cause periodontitis, the advanced form of gum disease that threatens your teeth.
Gum and Tissue Grafts
Gum grafts replace missing or receded gum tissue due to gum disease by borrowing healthy tissue from either your gums or soft palette and using it to cover exposed roots and develop new gum tissue where needed. Dr. Ravon is an extremely experienced gum graft surgeon, specializing in both periodontal and implant dentistry. He has performed hundreds of gum grafts and brings years of experience into each and every operation.
There are both functional and aesthetic benefits to gum grafts. Their primary goal is functional, to stop the progress of gum disease and reduce further gum recession and bone loss, and to cover exposed roots to protect them from decay. This often has the added benefit of reduced tooth sensitivity.
Esthetically, you’ll be the proud owner of a more healthy-looking and symmetrical gum line, which should give you a nice new reason to smile.
Osseous Surgery
When a pocket that exists around a tooth (or teeth) has not responded to other gum disease treatments, osseous surgery can help you to retain the tooth by making it easier to keep the affected area clean.
In the procedure, after a thorough cleaning of the root surface, the affected bone is smoothed and reshaped to create a shallower pocket where it is more difficult for undesirable bacteria to survive. This greatly assists the body’s natural healing ability and helps you to move towards renewed health.
Guided Tissue Regeneration
Guided tissue regeneration, as the name implies, guides the growth of new gum tissue into specific areas where it is desired. The result is the ability of bone and tissue to re-grow around a tooth endangered by gum disease.
The procedure consists of a thorough cleaning of the affected area after which a thin barrier is placed below the gum to create a space where healthy tissue can grow. The barrier separates fast-growing gum tissue from the newly cleaned tooth surface to enable the slower-growing fibers and bone cells to grow into the area.
Crown Lengthening
Crown lengthening can be performed as a cosmetic procedure to improve the appearance of short teeth. However, sometimes crown lengthening is necessary to ensure that you have enough tooth material to support a dental restoration. In both cases, Dr. Ravon can perform crown lengthening to give you the cosmetic or functional results you desire.
Dental Implant Placement Due to Gum Disease Treatment
If you have lost one or more teeth, replacing them is about more than just keeping a complete and attractive smile. If you have lost teeth, your remaining teeth can drift or suffer damage because of additional or unusual force. You may also lose bone because your body thinks it is not necessary without teeth to support it.
Dental implants are the best replacement option because they are anchored in the jawbone just like your natural teeth, giving them the same look and function. However, gum disease can threaten dental implants as much as natural teeth, so it’s important to ensure your periodontal health is good before you receive implants.
Guided Bone Regeneration
Similar in concept to guided tissue regeneration, guided bone regeneration (GBR) directs new bone growth into specific areas where it is desired. GBR is a desirable gum disease treatment option whenever bone loss exists. It is commonly used following a tooth extraction, long-term tooth loss, trauma, or in support of implant procedures to provide enhanced anchorage.
Sometimes GBR is performed in conjunction with a bone graft. The graft both replaces missing bone and helps your body to regrow its own lost bone. The new bone growth serves to strengthen the affected area by forming a bridge between your existing bone and the graft material. Over time your own newly formed bone replaces much of the grafted material leaving your jaw healthy and strong.
Sinus Augmentation
A sinus augmentation is an oral surgery procedure that adds bone to the upper jaw areas of the molars and premolars. The most common purpose is to graft sufficient additional bone material to support a dental implant after the bone has been lost to gum disease or resorption.
Extractions and Ridge Preservation
Tooth extraction is a quite common and generally uncomplicated dental procedure. On occasion, however, the soft tissues and bone that surrounded and supported the extracted tooth can begin to collapse.
Ridge preservation prevents this collapse from happening by placing regenerative bone grafting material into the cavity where the extracted tooth or teeth used to be. This helps to preserve the natural appearance of the mouth, provides needed support for dental implants, and enables a more natural, functional, and esthetically pleasing tooth replacement.
Microsurgical Techniques
Dental microsurgery is surgery performed with the aid of a dental operating microscope and fiber optic lighting. Its benefit when working in the extremely small spaces dental surgery demands (such as a root canal) and to such minute and exacting specifications (often a millimeter or less) cannot be overstated.
The dental operating microscope greatly magnifies the treatment area, giving the dentist a more precise view of the procedure. The fiber optic light provides the intense light needed when working at such extreme magnifications.
Nicolas A. Ravon, DDS, MSD commonly uses microsurgical techniques during the placement of dental implants, root canal treatments, and apicoectomies. Of particular benefit to periodontics, the precision of microsurgery can enable faster gum disease treatment and less healing time thanks to fewer cuts, fewer stitches, or even eliminating the need to pull back the gums at all.
Specialized Training in Gum Disease Treatment for Exceptional Results
Board-certified periodontist Dr. Nicolas A. Ravon has exceptional qualifications for performing gum disease treatment and other periodontist procedures. Whether you are looking for a simple procedure or a complex and involved one, we may be able to help you get superior results.
To learn more, please contact Nicolas A. Ravon, DDS, MSD in Beverly Hills today to schedule an appointment.
