Why Choose a Periodontist? According to the American Academy of Periodontology, a periodontist is a dentist who successfully completed a three-year surgical residency specializing in periodontology and implantology. The expertise of a periodontist includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal and dental implant diseases. Although periodontal and implant diseases are two distinct oral diseases, these two diseases share many commonalities in the types of oral bacteria and the deterioration of the gums and bone supporting natural teeth and implant. If these diseases are untreated, aggressive bone loss will ensue, ultimately weakens the support and leads to the loss of natural teeth and implants. Unequivocally, periodontists are the dental expert among the seven ADA recognized dental specialties in providing both non-surgical and surgical treatments of periodontal and implant diseases. Treating Periodontal and Implant DiseasesOn the non-surgical side, as a periodontist Dr. Trinh customizes the scaling and root planning of the affected teeth and the debridement of diseased implants according to the disease severity and the potential relapse, and create a follow-up and support periodontal regiment for each individual patient to prevent the diseases from relapsing or progressing. On the surgical side, Dr. Trinh and his periodontist colleagues are the expert at reducing deep diseased pockets around teeth and implants. In cases where grafting is possible, Dr. Trinh is able to regenerate the loss of bone and gums around natural teeth and implants, hence extending the life of the affected teeth and implants. While general dentists treat less serious periodontal cases, many will refer their patients to periodontists for the more challenging and deteriorating periodontal cases. Dental Implants and Gum/Bone RegenerationSimilarly, while some general dentists might choose to perform dental implant procedures, many will refer their patients to well-trained periodontists because of several reasons: 1) The ability to regenerate bone in severe alveolar bone defects to support dental implants; 2) The ability to regenerate attached keratinized gingiva (fibrous gum similar to the one on the roof of the mouth) to create a natural soft tissue seal at the neck of dental implants because such condition has been shown in peer-reviewed literature to maintain the integrity of the bone at the neck of the implant, decrease gum inflammation and increase patient’s comfort during chewing and daily brushing, and 3) The ability to coordinate complex dental implant treatments and collaborate with referring general dentists and prosthodontists to ensure the best esthetic and functional outcomes. Furthermore, periodontists can diagnose the onset of gum and bone diseases associated with dental implants and provide appropriate non-surgical and surgical treatment (grafting of both gum and bone) before the diseases cause the complete loss of the implant. Cosmetic Gum SurgeryIn addition, periodontists have been known in the dental community for the ability to perform micro gum surgery to correct gum recession or thin gum on natural teeth and dental implants. Being well-versed in cosmetic dental surgeries, Dr. Trinh is able to help with these following cosmetic surgeries: 1) Lengthen the upper lip (aka. lip reposition) to correct a gummy smile or an incompetent upper lip, and 2) Lengthen front or back teeth in cases of short teeth or gummy smile so to create an esthetic and harmonious smile, or in cases of severely worn teeth where additional teeth structure is needed to be exposed above the bone (aka. crown lengthening) so that the general dentists/prosthodontists can place crowns on these teeth. Regardless of the procedures, a well-surgically trained periodontist can provide patients with either nitrous, oral or intravenous moderate sedation to help patients feel at ease and comfortable during procedures. Call us at 623-556-5442 if you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment. |
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