Our Periodontal Smile Strategies™ include: 

Gum Recession Treatments   

We offer minimally invasive treatments for gum recession. A variety of factors can cause gum recession, including gum disease, poor dental hygiene, hormonal changes, genetics, bite misalignment, and more. Common symptoms include tooth root exposure, gum pain, sensitive teeth, and changes in tooth appearance.  Available treatments include gum grafting, tunnel technique, and the Pinhole® Surgical Technique. To learn more about gum recession and available treatments, please visit https://www.pinholedentistrochester.com/ today! 

Crown Lengthening, Esthetic Gum Contouring 

If your teeth appear too short and you have a “gummy” smile, crown lengthening can help to create a different appearance of the teeth and smile by changing the shape, thickness and contour of the gum tissue. Think about your teeth as a beautiful painting. and the gums are the frame that enhance the artwork. Crown lengthening is also used to make cosmetic and restorative procedures possible — if a tooth has broken at the gum line, we can correct the levels to make more of the tooth accessible for your dentist to do a crown or restoration. Successful restorations need to be placed on enough of the tooth so that they are retentive. When too little of the tooth is present, patients may experience that their crown keeps falling off. If this occurs, then a crown lengthening procedure is likely needed. We also use new techniques to alter lip movement and enhance smile design.

Pocket Treatment & Reduction 

Healthy bone and gum tissue should fit snugly around your teeth, much like a turtleneck sweater. Periodontal or gum disease destroys this supporting tissue and bone, which forms pockets or spaces around the teeth. Over time pockets deepen, allowing the plaque or bacteria to grow, destroying bone support and causing shrinkage of gum tissue or recession. This process ultimately causes tooth loss. Treatment of the pockets removes bacteria by cleaning under the gum tissue using minimally invasive techniques. New techniques that we use include lasers, antibiotics, and biologics to stimulate tissue growth.

Lasers 

Dental lasers are playing an increasingly important role in periodontology providing fast, simple, and highly effective treatments for procedures such as periodontal flap surgery, gingivoplasty, gum pigmentation removal, crown lengthening and treatment of dental implants. Fotona’s dual-wavelength Er: YAG and Nd: YAG dental lasers are the perfect tools for performing the widest variety of laser-assisted periodontal procedures in a minimally invasive, cost-effective manner. 

Gingival Grafting, Periodontal Plastic Surgery 

Gum recession is a common finding in both adolescents and older adults. Recession in young individuals is often seen following orthodontic treatment. We work closely with orthodontists to determine if recession may occur as the teeth are straightened and offer solutions to make sure the teeth stay healthy in the final, straightened position. Sometimes, grafting is needed before orthodontics, but largely. we will wait until the braces are removed to make a determination on treatment. 

Regeneration

When periodontal disease occurs, the bone and gum tissue are destroyed, compromising the longevity of the teeth. Once we are able to stop the infection and cure the inflammation, we can offer procedures that successfully repair damaged teeth by growing bone and gum tissue attachment. Techniques that employ bone grafting, guided tissue regeneration, and biologics/growth factors offer new hope to keep your natural teeth. We use minimally invasive grafting techniques — such as Alloderm and the Pinhole Technique — which allows us to avoid using gum tissue from the palate. 


Short-term Orthodontic Treatment 

This type of teeth-straightening system uses tooth-colored wires and clear brackets to realign teeth and give you a healthy, renewed smile. Dr. Lowenguth uses this technique only on periodontally treated teeth to correct altered or shifted teeth and spacing that has occurred due to periodontal disease. This is a limited part of her practice and is available for a select group of patients within the practice. She favors the use of her orthodontic partners for adolescents, complex corrections, and advanced adult cases. Orthodontists are the specialists that are best to treat and provide the most comprehensive solutions. She works with specific orthodontists that share her philosophy and quality. Please ask for a recommendation for referral. 

Peri-implantitis 

Even implants can develop periodontal disease. This means that the gums around implants can become infected and lose bone. Sometimes, if not monitored properly, the disease can result in the loss of the implant and subsequently the crown, bridge, or denture. This is costly and devastating to the patient. Most of these problems can be avoided with proper diagnosis and planning by a certified surgeon or periodontist who will work closely with your restorative team. Implants need to be not only planned and executed properly but cared for on a regular basis. As periodontists, we place an important emphasis on implant maintenance. We recommend that you are seen on a regular basis for cleaning using proper implant instruments and monitoring. Prevention and early intervention is the best way to maintain your implants and restoration for a lifetime. However, if you do develop problems around your implants, we are the periodontal office that can help you. Our periodontal team is properly educated in techniques to treat gum problems around implants and restore the area back to health. Periodontists are trained to recognize and treat gum disease whether around natural teeth or implants. Protect your investment, and let us help you maintain good periodontal health.