Gum Graft Surgery

For patients who are missing one or more of their natural teeth, there is no treatment that restores form, function, and health to the mouth quite like dental implants. By replicating the entire structure of the missing tooth, from root to crown, dental implants provide the strongest, most durable, and most natural-looking replacement for missing teeth currently available. Patients emerge from dental implant surgery with a renewed ability to chew, bite, speak, and smile. The procedure has been responsible for improving the oral health and overall quality of life for countless patients.

Scottsdale oral surgeon Robert Guyette performs the surgical placement of the titanium implant posts that serve as artificial tooth roots for crowns, bridges, and dentures. Many of the finest dentists in the area choose to collaborate with Dr. Guyette because of his exceptional surgical skills, as well as his ability to perform the grafting procedures that enable patients who might otherwise not be able to receive dental implants to become suitable candidates for the treatment. At his practice in Scottsdale, gum graft surgery has helped to transform the lives of many patients whose periodontal tissues had fallen into disrepair due to missing teeth.

Why Gum Graft Surgery Is Necessary for Some Dental Implant Patients

Dental implants are titanium posts that, when embedded in the jawbone, assume the function of absent tooth roots. The posts fuse with the jawbone, which does not detect titanium as a substance foreign to the human body; they, therefore, essentially become part of the patient’s natural anatomy. Once they have fused into place, they provide peerless support for tooth restorations, from single crowns to full sets of dentures.

Unfortunately, the longer a person waits to replace missing teeth, the less likely he or she will be good candidates for dental implants. This is because the structures that once supported these missing teeth begin to degrade once they no longer serve their intended purpose. The soft and hard tissues that were once integral to the health and preservation of a tooth fall into a state of disuse and eventually begin to disintegrate when that tooth is no longer there. By the time a person seeks to replace missing teeth with dental implants, there may be insufficient bone and gum tissue to support those implants.

Fortunately, both the bone and the gums can be restored through grafting procedures. Bone grafting is performed prior to implant placement, as the implant requires sufficiently dense bone in order to fuse properly. Once the bone tissues have been built up to the point that they can support the titanium implants, the patient can proceed with the treatment. After the implants fuse with the jawbone, the gum graft procedure will be performed to ensure that the implant is surrounded by snugly conforming periodontal tissue, as a natural tooth would be. The body will then receive the signal that the hard and soft tissues are once again serving an important purpose, and they will thrive.

The Procedure

Periodontal tissue is remarkably similar to the tissues of the hard palate (or roof) of the mouth. In performing gum graft surgery for his Scottsdale dental implants patients, Dr. Guyette removes a small amount of tissue from the hard palate, prepares it, and then sutures it to the area around the implant. Within two weeks, this grafted material will heal into place, and the sutures can be removed. Gum graft surgery helps to reduce the risk of infection, post-procedural pain, and implant failure.

Contact Dr. Robert Guyette

If you would like to learn more about gum graft surgery, or if you are a dentist looking to work with an experienced oral surgeon in the Scottsdale area, please contact Dr. Robert Guyette today.