Receding gums before and after
Philadelphia (PRWEB) May 14, 2014
A new treatment for receding gums provides an alternative to cut-and-suture methods to millions of Americans. Dr. Stephen Brown is the first periodontist in Philadelphia to offer the Pinhole Surgical Technique™.
Dr. Brown incorporated the procedure because he believes non-invasive treatments are the future of medicine.
"Many periodontists still approach grafting by painfully harvesting tissue from the palate and transplanting it to other areas of the mouth," Brown said. "A lot of people have receding gums, but they only know the horror stories about palate grafting. So of course they're not rushing into their dentist's offices to get it done."
Traditional gum grafting treats severe gum recession by cutting out a section of skin from the patient's palate and placing it under raised gum tissue. The procedure requires a good deal of cutting and stitching and significant recovery time.
The Pinhole Surgical Technique™ was developed by Dr. John Chao as a less invasive treatment for receding gums. As described on Dr. Chao's website, "During the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique™, a needle is used to make a small hole in the patient's existing gum tissue. Through this pinhole, special instruments are used to gently loosen the gum tissue. These tools help expand and slide the
gumline to cover the exposed root structure."
The procedure requires no scalpels or stitches and therefore causes less discomfort and risk of infection than grafting.
Besides being less painful than gum grafting, the Pinhole Surgical Technique™ offers quicker recovery time and long lasting results. Dr. Chao has many patients who received the Pinhole procedure more than seven years ago whose gums are still healthy and pink.
As the first periodontist in Philadelphia to offer this new procedure, Dr. Brown hopes many who have been avoiding treatment for their receding gums will come in and get treated. He said many people don’t even recognize the recession initially. More often people complain that their teeth are very sensitive, which is frequently a symptom of receding gums.
"Receding gums are not normal," Brown said. "If gums recede it means the bone is receded around the tooth. This is a serious problem that can eventually lead to tooth loss. The Pinhole procedure allows the body to regenerate lost gum tissue and restore the bone and teeth to full health."
Also known as the “dentist who teaches other dentists” Dr. Brown is one of less than 150 dentists worldwide who has been certified to provide the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique™. This gives Philadelphia residents a unique opportunity to benefit from this advanced procedure early on.
Philadelphia patients can find out if they are candidates for the Pinhole procedure by scheduling an appointment with Dr. Brown at http://www.theperiogroup.com or by calling (215) 735-3660.
About Dr. Stephen Brown: Dr. Brown is a practicing periodontist in Philadelphia, a professor of Periodontology at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, and Director of the Dental Implant Center at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. He is also a proponent of advanced, non-invasive procedures for healing and has pioneered many of them in his practice including the LANAP procedure for treating gum disease.