Flap Surgery

Your bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth like a turtleneck. When you have periodontal disease, this supporting tissue and bone is destroyed, forming “pockets” around the teeth. Over time, these pockets become deeper, providing a larger space for bacteria to thrive and wreak havoc. As bacteria accumulate and advance under the gum tissue in these deep pockets, additional bone and tissue loss follow. Eventually, if too much bone is lost, the teeth will need to be extracted.

Flap surgery is sometimes performed to remove tartar deposits in deep pockets or to reduce the periodontal pocket and make it easier for you or your dental professional to keep the area clean. This common surgery involves lifting back the gums and removing the tartar. The gums are then sutured back in place so that the tissue fits snugly around the tooth again. A pocket reduction procedure is recommended if daily at-home oral hygiene and a professional care routine cannot effectively reach these deep pockets. In some cases, irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to limit areas where disease-causing bacteria can hide. This allows the gum tissue to better reattach to healthy bone. The teeth will appear longer as we are forcing recession to reduce the pocket depth. This may also cause tooth sensitivity as more root structure is exposed to the oral environment.Time will usually be the ultimate desensitized but if it persists then Dr.Kirshen can recommend various options to minimize the sensitivity beginning with special toothpastes such as Prevident Boost by Colgate, to treating the roots with desensitizing agents in office. Only in extreme cases may there be a need for root canal therapy or fully covering all the root surfaces using a crown procedure.