Gum Disease Treatment & Oral Surgery Care Pleasanton

What is Gum Disease?

Gum disease is an infection that develops due to a build-up of harmful oral bacteria. The infection develops in the gum pockets that are located around each tooth, leading to inflammation, bleeding, chronic bad breath, and more. In the early stages of gum disease, less harmful symptoms and side-effects may be noticed, but as the disease progresses, it can lead to the deterioration of the supportive soft and hard tissues of the teeth. This can ultimately lead to loose teeth and tooth loss.

Tips for Maintaining Healthy Gums

Dental plaque is the main cause of periodontal disease, so it's essential to remove it every day with effective brushing and flossing. This doesn't mean scrubbing, which can actually cause your gums to recede! Proper techniques can be demonstrated for you by our team.

Of course, there are some areas of the mouth that a toothbrush and floss just can't easily reach, which is why it's so important to have regular professional cleanings at the dental office. Your regular dental exam is also a time when early signs of gum disease can be detected — before they become apparent, even to you.

Eating a nutritious diet and avoiding tobacco in all forms will also improve your periodontal health as well as your chances of keeping your teeth for life.

Gum Disease Treatments & Oral Surgery

Periodontal treatment includes both surgical and non-surgical techniques to restore health to the tissues that support the teeth (gums and bone) and prevent tooth loss. In addition to these services, Dr. Hosseini also offers a number of oral surgery procedures.

Scaling and Root Planing

This deep cleaning technique is the best starting point to control gum disease. Plaque and calculus (tartar) are removed from above and below the gum tissues, using hand scalers and ultrasonic instruments.

Periodontal Laser Treatment (LANAP®)

Removing diseased gum tissue with a soft tissue laser can offer significant advantages over conventional surgery. These include less discomfort during and after the procedure and greater preservation of your healthy gum tissue.

Chao Pinhole Technique

If you have suffered gum recession, you might be a candidate for a special, minimally invasive surgery known as the Chao Pinhole Technique. Instead of grafting new tissue onto your gums, our in-house periodontist in Pleasanton can adjust your existing gum tissue so it covers more of your tooth, helping prevent tooth loss.

Gum Grafting

Sometimes it's necessary to replace areas of lost gum tissue so that tooth roots are adequately protected. This can be accomplished by taking healthy gum tissue from one area of the mouth and moving it to where it is needed, or by using laboratory-processed donor tissue.

Crown Lengthening Surgery

This is a surgical procedure in which tooth structure that is covered by gum and bone tissue may need to be exposed either for cosmetic reasons (to make the teeth look longer and the smile less gummy) or to aid in securing a new dental crown.

Gingivectomies

Gingivectomies involve the surgical removal of overgrown or excess gum tissue from around the teeth. The results can be functional or esthetic, allowing for a more balanced tooth-to-gum ratio or helping a restoration like a dental crown fit more securely atop a tooth. 

Bone Grafting

If you’re considering getting dental implants but have suffered from gaps in your smile for years, it’s likely that you’ll need a bone graft before you can successfully undergo dental implant placement. This procedure will help improve bone density and allow for successful osseointegration (which is when the implant fuses with the jawbone).

Oral Pathology

If your dentist in Pleasanton spots any abnormalities during your oral cancer screening or routine examination, Dr. Hosseini can conduct a biopsy as well as diagnose and treat the issue.

Tooth Extractions

Tooth extractions can be complex depending on the size and shape of the tooth's roots, jawbone density, and root proximity to nerves or sinuses. Sometimes teeth need to be divided into sections in order to safely remove them and promote better healing. Dr. Hosseini offers safe, expert surgical tooth extractions in-office.

Frenectomies

Dr. Hosseini offers frenectomies to treat lip or tongue ties that may be limiting oral mobility or causing tooth gaps and gum recession. A frenectomy can improve sleeping and breathing, chewing ability, speech, tooth position, and much more.

Dentoalveolar Surgeries

The term “dentoalveolar surgeries” is an umbrella term that’s used to describe a number of procedures to improve the supportive structures of the teeth, as well as the teeth themselves. These include:

• Surgical exposure of impacted teeth
• Pre-prosthetic surgery (like removal of oddly-shaped bone)
• Surgical mitigation of bone loss (placing a bone graft when teeth are extracted to prevent the bone from eroding further)

Dental Implant Placement

Typically, when you visit a general dentist’s office for dental implants, you’re referred to a specialist like a periodontist for the surgical placement portion of the procedure. At Brush Country Dental Center, you’ll have a trained expert, Dr. Hosseini, complete the surgery in-office, and Dr. Pruski will restore your implants, allowing you to only need to visit one practice.

Learn More About Dental Implants