Last week Aesthetic Family Dentistry announced the arrival of the innovative Chao Pinhole™ Surgical Technique (PST). A new treatment for gum recession that is changing the way we manage the condition. As we are now offering the procedure to our Denville, NJ patients, we thought we would explain a little more about how it works.
First let us cover how and why gum recession is a problem and then move on to what we can do about it.
Gum recession
Receding gums are a product of aging and lifestyle. Our gums recede naturally as we age but this process can be accelerated by habits such as smoking, having tongue or lip piercings, grinding your teeth or even something as simple as not brushing your teeth properly.
The causes may be many but the risks are the same. Gum recession is a problem because it exposes the root of the tooth. This increases the risk of tooth decay, periodontal disease and other complications. Healthy gums protect the teeth, which is why gum disease is such an issue.
Until the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique, the procedure to repair gum recession involved soft tissue grafts. This is a very involved, invasive procedure that worked very well. It was also complicated and often required considerable recovery time. It wasn’t without discomfort either.
Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique
The Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique changes everything. Rather than having to perform soft tissue grafts and suture them in place, the Pinhole Surgical Technique uses a needle to make a tiny incision into the gum. We then perform the entire procedure from within this incision.
So rather than multiple grafts above each tooth with sutures across the gum line, we can perform an equally effective procedure within a single pinhole. As you can imagine, this has huge benefits for patients. No more invasive surgery, no more grafts, no sutures and no extended recovery time. Rather than having to wait weeks to heal fully, you could be fully recovered and back at work within a couple of hours!
The technique is proving itself very effective so you are not compromising the treatment in favor of a simpler procedure either. All studies that we know of find that the Pinhole Surgical Technique is as effective, if not more so, than traditional skin graft techniques.
Our very own Dr. Steiner has been trained by Dr Chao himself in the Pinhole Surgical Technique which is why Aesthetic Family Dentistry now offers it. As holistic dentists, we are extremely happy to be able to replace an invasive procedure with a much simpler one that needs less surgery and much less recovery.
Contact Aesthetic Family Dentistry today if you would like to take advantage of this latest gum recession treatment. Call us at 973-627-3617 to schedule a consultation.
