Ask the Dental Experts

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Soft Tissue Grafts

A soft tissue graft is a procedure that involves taking tissue from either your palate or your gumline and connecting it to receding gums. In most instances, gums recede because of periodontal disease. In other cases, they can recede as a result of physical trauma, crooked teeth, or age. It is important that you take this condition seriously. It affects more than just your looks. If left untreated, it can expose tooth roots, which will in turn result in tooth sensitivity and possible tooth loss in the future.

The good news is that soft tissue grafts will stop gum recession in its tracks, protect exposed tooth roots, and make the appearance of the smile more aesthetic and natural looking. One noticeable benefit that you will immediately become aware of is a decreased sensitivity to hot and cold and a greater comfort eating a wide range of foods.

There are three types of soft tissue grafts, briefly described as follows:

1. Free gingival graft- The dentist cuts a small strip of tissue from the palate and stitches it to the receding gum line. This method is used mostly for people with naturally thin gums who can benefit aesthetically from the addition of new tissue.
2. Connective-tissue graft- The dentists takes subepithelial connective tissue from under the palate. This tissue is very similar to the type that surrounds tooth roots, and it is ideal for covering roots that have been exposed. .
3. Pedicle graft- This type of graft is used when an exposed root is located adjacent to a tooth with healthy, abundant gum tissue. A flap of healthy gum tissue is partially cut away, flipped over, and stitched to the damaged area. This procedure offers the benefits of connecting existing blood vessels as well as tissue to the area being treated.

There will be a certain amount of discomfort after any of the above procedures are performed. Most dentists will use a soft, clay-like periodontal dressing to protect the grafted tissue while it heals. Prescription pain medication will be used in most cases as well. You should follow all post-operative instructions, the foremost of which is to keep his or her mouth clean during the healing process.

For more information on this and related topics, read the following articles on our main website:
Cosmetic Dental Teeth Procedures
Periodontal Surgery
Root Canal Therapy
Tooth Decay
Tooth Pain and Sensitivity

If you are experiencing pain or tooth sensitivity any time you eat or drink something hot or cold, then you need to call our office for an appointment. Your condition may or may not be related to gum recession, but regardless, it is something we need to look at and address because no doubt it will lead to future complications if left untreated.

Labels: cosmetic dental procedures, Gum Disease, intermittent toothache, pain in tooth, pain while chewing, soft tissue grafts, tooth sensitivity

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Broken Tooth Replaced with Dental Implant

Three weeks ago a patient by the name of David came to us after he had bitten down on a piece of chicken and felt sharp pain on one of his teeth. After that, he had consistently felt pain when he chewed a variety of foods. He even reported the tooth hurt him if he touched it with his tongue. He wondered that maybe he had broken one of his teeth. However, he could not see any fracture on the surface of the tooth when he examined it in the mirror. There was something that felt like a missing piece at the base of the tooth—possibly a filling he had gotten as a child had come loose? We advised him to come to our office, as it was impossible to determine the issue without a closer examination.

Many times a broken tooth does more than crack. A part of it actually splits off. People sometimes recover these fragments, in fact. This is not always the case though. A person like David, for instance, may see nothing wrong with the tooth and simply conclude that the problem lies with an old filling. The pain is nonetheless very acute, because a broken tooth is not something a person can ignore. The one good thing that comes of this situation is that few people procrastinate seeing a dentist. They want the pain to stop, and they usually act quickly enough to get the treatment they need to save the tooth.

David did procrastinate, however, because he tried to diagnose himself. Believing that this was simply a problem with old filling, and not a broken tooth, he assumed he had plenty of time to get the tooth refilled. Then, when the pain got significantly worse, he realized he needed an appointment as soon as possible. We worked him into the schedule, and got him into our office.

The first thing we did was pull his case history up on our computer. We found that the tooth he was having problems with had never been filled. This indicated that the problem indeed was a broken tooth, and that the fracture was located at an angle not possible for anyone to see without dental equipment. Our intraoral camera was able to find it immediately, though, and to show David a full color image of the tooth and the fracture on a high-resolution monitor. We also discovered just how serious the situation really was. The broken part of the tooth had penetrated the gumline and embedded itself in the tissue. The root had been exposed to open air, and infection was beginning to set in as well.

There really was no better course of action than extraction of the tooth. David was very upset with himself when he heard this. He blamed himself for not acting more quickly. We reassured him that more than likely this would have been the course of action recommended, anyway. A tooth that is broken below the gum line is not salvageable with a crown alone. A dental implant can be created that looks natural and healthy, making it look as though the original tooth had never been lost.

Please do not assume because this story ended well that it is ever a good idea to put off calling a dentist if you think you have a broken tooth. If David had waited longer, he may have developed an abscess. A broken tooth is nothing to play guessing games with, and certainly nothing to procrastinate treating.

Labels: broken tooth, dental implant, pain while chewing