Periodontal Treatment, Surgery and Crown Lengthening

Oral Sedation

What is the main goal of periodontal treatment and crown lengthening?

Periodontal treatment:

The primary goal of periodontal treatment is to maintain oral health, function, comfort, and aesthetics of all supporting structures and tissues in the mouth. The periodontal treatment helps preserve, improve, and maintain natural dentition, dental implants, periodontium, and peri‐implant tissues. A healthy periodontium is characterized by the absence of inflammation, which may appear clinically as redness, swelling, suppuration, and bleeding on probing.

Crown lengthening:

In some cases, teeth may be of the proper length, but they are covered with too much gum tissue. For this, the periodontist performs a dental crown lengthening procedure.

During the dental crown lengthening procedure, excess gum and bone tissue are reshaped to expose more of the natural tooth. This can be performed on one tooth, gum line, or several teeth to expose a natural, broad smile.

Dentists at Center for Dental Health, La Jolla, may also recommend dental crown lengthening to make a restorative or cosmetic dental procedure possible. Perhaps this is possible if the tooth is decayed, broken below the gum line, or has insufficient tooth structure for a restoration, such as a crown or bridge. Crown lengthening adjusts the gum and bone level to expose more of the tooth so it can be restored.

How long does it take to heal from crown lengthening?

The more tissue that needs to be removed, and the more teeth involved, the longer the procedure will take. It usually takes 7-10 days before the stitches are ready to remove. Next, the gums will need time to heal, which takes about three months.

Is crown lengthening worth it?

Crown lengthening, also known as crown exposure, is a simple and straightforward procedure. It is important to get crown lengthening when a tooth needs a new crown or other types of restoration because the edge of the area being restored can be too deep to reach. Sometimes the restoration area is so deep below the gum and so close to or below the bone, that the crown needs to be lengthened to reach it.

If a tooth is being restored, it is important to reach the concerned area to ensure the best fit possible for the tooth and to give the ability to clean (brush or floss) the area that’s been restored. It is also important to clean the area to prevent future decay or any gum disease.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would surgical crown lengthening be undertaken?
A short clinical crown may lead to poor retention form thereby leading to improper tooth preparation. A surgical crown lengthening procedure is done to increase the clinical crown length without violating the biologic width.
What does periodontal treatment involve?

The first nonsurgical step involves a special cleaning, called “scaling and root planning,” to remove plaque and tartar deposits on the tooth and root surfaces. This procedure helps gum tissue to heal and periodontal pockets to shrink. This is sometimes referred to as “periodontal cleaning” or “deep cleaning.”

What are the four stages of periodontal disease?

Periodontal disease is broken up into four stages: gingivitis, slight periodontal disease, moderate periodontal disease, and advanced periodontal disease.

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