Cosmetic Periodontal Surgery Pittsburgh Pa

Dr. Mark Weingarden performs the following Cosmetic Periodontal Surgery in his Pittsburgh, PA office.

Cosmetic Crown Elongation

Cosmetic crown elongation or crown lengthening is done to improve a “gummy” smile or to recontour uneven gum margins. Sometimes teeth appear short, when they are actually the proper size but are covered with excessive gum tissue. This can be corrected by gently reducing the excess tissue and bone to reshape the tissues and expose more of the tooth structure. The outcome is a striking improvement to your smile.

Before cosmetic crown lengthening

After cosmetic crown lengthening

Connective Tissue Grafting (Gum Grafting)

Exposed roots are the result of gum recession. Recession is most often caused by vigorous tooth brushing, genetics or periodontal disease. Perhaps you don’t like the appearance of your smile due to the exposed roots that make your teeth appear too long. Or perhaps the exposed roots are causing sensitivity to hot, cold or sweets. Because the roots are soft, they can also become very susceptible to root decay. The benefit of gum grafting is protection from decay, relief from sensitivity and a more esthetically pleasing smile.

Prior to treating recession, it is important to determine the cause of the problem. Once the contributing factors are controlled, soft tissue grafting can help repair the problem and prevent further gum recession.

The most commonly asked question about tissue grafting is, “Will it hurt?” During this procedure, a thin piece of tissue will be taken from the palate or another donor area in the mouth and used to cover the exposed root. This tissue is removed in a gentle fashion; most patients find that Tylenol or Advil, taken as directed, is sufficient in relieving any postoperative discomfort. In addition to local anesthetic, oral or IV sedation is available upon request.

An alternative to using the tissue from your mouth is to use AlloDerm. AlloDerm is a dermal matrix from a tissue bank that allows us to give you the tissue you need, without the limitations of harvesting the tissue from the palate. Not everyone has enough tissue available or wants to have the tissue taken from the palate. AlloDerm allows us unlimited tissue so that we can graft any number of teeth in just one visit. The results using AlloDerm are equivalent to using the patient’s own tissue.

Autologus Platelet Concentrate or Emdogain may also be used during gum grafting to speed the healing, enhance the outcome and increase the comfort of the patient.

Before connective tissue grafting

After connective tissue grafting

Ridge Augmentation:

If missing teeth are not immediately replaced with dental implants or if bone grafting is not done at the time of extraction, the jaw bone quickly begins to atrophy or erode. This situation can also occur as a result of periodontal disease, wearing dentures, developmental defects, injury or trauma.

This often creates a situation in which there is poor quality and quantity of bone. It can also cause an unattractive indentation in the jaw line near the missing teeth.

Today we have the ability to replenish this bone, giving us the proper length and width of bone necessary to place dental implants or to improve the esthetics of the area.