Pinhole Surgical Rejuvenation is a Comfortable Way to Repair Your Gums

If your gums need to be repaired, Pinhole Surgical Rejuvenation - the Chao Pinhole® Surgical Technique  - is an excellent option for you to consider.  Gum disease and gum recession are incredibly common with millions of adults suffering from some sort of gum disease during their lifetime.  Regular dental cleanings can help to prevent gum disease, however, the condition is also caused by genetics and other irritants.  In some cases, patients suffer from gum recession not due to illness or lack of dental care but due to too much care.  Aggressive brushing, as an example, can irritate the gums and cause them to recede.  In either case, regardless of why gums become infected or recede, they must be treated in order to protect the teeth.

Gums are vital for the health of your mouth overall, and they do an important job of protecting teeth.  By surrounding the tooth structure and covering the roots, they prevent anything from touching them directly.  The gums are a sort of barrier that protects a portion of the tooth structure and roots from bacteria and acid, thereby preventing things like tooth decay and bone loss.  If the gums start to recede, this protection no longer exists as the gums pull away from the tooth structure.  As a result, many patients with gum disease suffer bone loss and eventually lose some of their teeth. 

Given the critical nature of having healthy gums, if your gums have receded, we recommend treating them with Pinhole Surgical Rejuvenation.  This is the least invasive way to treat damaged gums and by doing so, we can begin the overall restoration process without the need for surgery.  In fact, this solution is “Scalpel Free, Suture Free, Conventional Graft Free”.  That means that you won’t have a prolonged recovery process or discomfort because your gums are never cut open, so there is no need to suture them or attach other tissue through a grafting process.  These are options that you may have read about or even discussed, and while they are effective, they can create a level of discomfort.  Avoiding the invasive nature of traditional gum therapy is what makes our procedure preferable for patients. 

Many of our patients ask what to expect from the Pinhole Surgical Rejuvenation procedure.  Unlike a traditional grafting procedure where tissue is attached to the gums, in this procedure a needle is used to make a small hole in the gum tissue.  Tiny instruments are inserted through the hole and wiggled around, expanding the gum tissue and pushing it down and over the tooth to where it should be.  Since no incisions are made it typically only takes around two hours to complete, and most patients are back to normal the next day.  Still, if you are concerned about sensitivity or recovery, we suggest scheduling the appointment for the end of the week so that you have the weekend to rest.  In most cases, you will be back to your normal weekend activities without a hitch.  The results are long-lasting and look entirely natural without the inconvenience of traditional gum grafting. 

An Implant Dentist Reviews What the Recovery Process is Like After Surgery

As an implant dentist, we replace damaged or missing teeth on a regular basis.  For many of our patients, dental implant surgery doesn't seem like a very big deal. When you consider the speed of recovery and the amount of impact it has after the surgery, there is definitely a case to be made for it being a very low impact surgery. That being said it is important to remember that minor thought it may be, dental implant installations are, in fact, a surgical process. As a patient, you need to remember this and schedule the procedure for when you will be able to do nothing but recover for several days. Avoiding strenuous situations, like lifting heavy objects, for example, is strongly encouraged. The last thing we want is to have you back for a repair surgery or to fix ripped sutures. 

Time heals dental implant most effectively. Within the first day, you will experience a great deal of recovery, and should be able to go back to life as usual the following day. Naturally, we recommend staying away from anything overly strenuous for at least 4 to 5 days. The overall recovery from dental implant surgery will take several days, and will involve your active participation to be a success. What you do and the choices that you make will play a critical role in determining how quickly you heal from the surgery. To help you along, we will give you with information and instructions on how to best recover.  Following these tips can save you the heartache of a long recovery cycle. 

When you leave you will have a prescription for an antibiotic. It is important that you fill this prescription and take the entire course. As with any surgical procedure the greatest risk to a dental implant surgery is an infection. Taking the antibiotic is a precautionary measure that could prevent an infection from occurring. Since antibiotics can be harsh on the stomach, we advise our patients to take the pill with meals or to use a glass of milk. Milk helps to line the stomach and offset the irritation caused by the antibiotic. In addition to the antibiotic, you will also have a medicated oral rinse to use. Combining this rinse with salt water rinses will work to keep the site of the dental implant surgery clean and disinfected. As an implant dentist, this is the only way we advise washing out the area, since you will not be able to brush it for several days because of the stitches and soreness. 

Bleeding is perfectly natural and occurs in every case of dental implants being installed. You will notice some blood in your saliva. As an implant dentist, we will give you gauze pads to control the bleeding. Using these gauze pads to put a little pressure on the tooth will help to stop the bleeding and also help with clotting. When holding the gauze in place, use light pressure as too much pressure could result in severe discomfort. If you are having discomfort, as many patients do, after the anesthesia wears off, you can always remedy this with over the counter pain medication like Advil or Tylenol. You can also use a cold compress to help reduce or prevent swelling.  Within a couple of days you should feel as good as new, so these are only temporary measures.