We’ve all heard the saying about “looking a little long in the tooth” when referring to someone who is getting older — but why?
As we age, our gums can begin to recede, giving the impression that teeth are actually growing and getting longer. This is what’s known as gum recession.
Gum recession is a common part of the aging process and can occur whether or not you practice good oral hygiene. In fact, one study found that around 88% of those 65 years or older have a receding gum in at least one tooth.
Yes, it’s common, but this issue should not be taken lightly. Left untreated, receding gums can cause significant oral health issues from tooth sensitivity and pain to infection, decay, and erosion of the roots of your teeth.
Traditional methods for treating gum recession are effective, but they’re also invasive, painful, and tedious. But thanks to advancements in dentistry, today there’s a much better, revolutionary solution: Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation, often simply referred to as PGR.
PGR — The breakthrough treatment for gum recession
PGR was developed by Jon Chao, DDS, MAGD and is known throughout the dental industry as the breakthrough method for correcting gum recession.
During this procedure, a needle is used to make a very small hole in the tissue above the gums. Through this tiny hole, high-tech instruments are used to gently loosen the gum tissue. PGR is an incredibly elegant and effective solution to gum recession.
The amazing benefits of PGR
To truly understand why PGR is so revolutionary, you need to review the many advantages of this technique — particularly when compared to traditional treatment methods.
1. No scalpels or invasive surgical tools are needed
Traditional gum recession treatment requires a surgical graft. Frequently, the dentist uses a scalpel to remove tissue from the roof of your mouth. From there, the tissue graft is stitched onto your existing gum tissue to cover the exposed tooth root. The surgical site on the roof of your mouth also receives stitches.
Though dentists tout this as a relatively simple procedure, many patients experience a lot of discomfort from the process — including swelling and bleeding.
PGR is completely the opposite. There are zero scalpels or other invasive tools involved. Plus, the process does not require tissue grafts from the roof of your mouth (or any other part of your body, for that matter).
The entire treatment is performed with thin, minimally-invasive and high-tech instruments. No cutting is required and, in turn, no stitches, either! The result is healthier, better-looking gums and no bleeding, swelling, or discomfort.
2. No need to take tissue from the roof of your mouth
We already mentioned this, but it bears repeating: PGR does not require a surgical tissue graft. This is a huge benefit for a number of reasons:
- No worries about whether or not the graft will take (some people have a higher likelihood for failure, such as smokers)
- No stitches on the roof of your mouth (it’s not uncommon to have 10+ stitches after a traditional gum recession surgery)
- You don’t have to wear a stent, which is a mouth guard meant to protect the surgical site & stitches
- You can get back to eating and chewing soft foods right away instead of sticking to only liquids.
- No going back to the dentist to get the stitches removed
Even without knowing these specific benefits, given the choice between cutting open the roof of your mouth or not, we’d all likely choose the later!
3. Multiple teeth can be treated in a single visit
If you’re suffering from recession in multiple teeth, you may not be able to correct all of them at one time…that is unless you’re receiving PGR therapy. Since PGR is minimally invasive, working on multiple teeth at one time does not pose a risk like traditional surgery would.
With traditional surgery, the wider spread the recession is, the more tissue grafts you’ll need. Since there is a limited amount of tissue on the roof of your mouth, only a few teeth can be treated at once. PGR does not have this same limitation.
4. Faster treatment
PGR is often referred to as the Lunchtime Gum Lift — that’s because the treatment is incredibly fast. Your PGR treatment will probably take just about an hour or so. Compared to traditional gum recession surgery, this is absolutely amazing.
5. Easier recovery, fewer pain medications
After the PGR treatment, most people can return to work, eat normally with soft foods, and get back to living life as soon as the next day.
Another thing to consider is pain management. Plain and simple, traditional gum recession surgery requires more meds. Not only is more sedation and anesthesia needed at the time of the procedure, patients are also typically on pain relief medication for at least 3 days following treatment. This alone can cause negative side effects.
With PGR, you won’t need any powerful pain medication after treatment, In fact, most of our patients only need aspirin, ibuprofen, or circumin to manage inflammation.
6. Immediate, natural-looking, long-lasting results
Traditional gum recession surgery often requires at least one (sometimes more) follow-up treatments. This is to make sure the tissue graft wasn’t rejected and is healing properly. In the meantime, you’ll live with a tender and bruised mouth, occasional bleeding, and swollen gums — not exactly a beautiful look.
But PGR is quite different. Within a day, you’ll notice an amazing cosmetic difference in the look of your mouth. The results will only continue to get better as your gums settle into place. Plus, since your own gum tissue is used for the treatment, there’s no chance of “rejection”.
Gum health is the foundation for lasting dental wellness
Since healthy gums are essential for a healthy mouth, treating gum recession is important for lasting dental wellness.
That why at Blodgett Dental Care, we’re proud to offer Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation. Dr. Kelly J. Blodgett was one of the first 20 dentists in the world to be trained in this innovative technique. In fact, Dr. Chao, who invented the procedure, personally taught Dr. Blodgett!
Over the years, hundreds of patients have taken control of their gum health with PGR at Blodgett Dental Care. And we’re ready to help you do the same. Learn more about PGR or contact us today to schedule a consultation.