Reverse Gum Recession Without Grafting (pinhole procedure)

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Originally Published Mar 29th, 2018

A New Technique That Revolutionizes Gum Recession Surgery

Surgery of any kind, including dental gum surgery, is a daunting prospect โ€” the discomfort, the downtime, the disruption — itโ€™s hard to find a silver lining no matter how you slice it. Until now.

Here at Lansdowne & Herndon Smile Design, Amirreza Rafaat, DDS, is constantly on the lookout for new techniques that deliver effective results in less time with less hassle. And we think weโ€™ve found just such a procedure for our patients in northern Virginia with the Pinhole Surgical Techniqueยฎ for receding gums.

To take some of the anxiety and fear out of gum surgery, weโ€™ve pulled together this primer so you can get better acquainted with the technique.

Why You May Need Gum Surgery
The reason for surgical correction of your gumline is to save your teeth. If youโ€™re suffering the first stages of periodontal disease, your gums have begun to recede, exposing the roots they once protected. This exposure makes your roots incredibly vulnerable, and itโ€™s a matter of when, not if, your teeth begin to succumb to deterioration.

With a gum recession procedure, we go in and cover up your exposed roots, bringing your gumline back down. This saves your teeth and prevents bacteria from entering your body through your gums.

Whatโ€™s New in Gum Surgery
Until recently, the procedure to repair the recession of your gumline involved taking skin grafts from the roof of your mouth and placing them along your gums. While effective, this procedure came with no small amount of discomfort.

Because of this, Dr. Rafaat researched the field and found a technique that delivers the same results, without the grafting and sutures.

Called the Pinhole Surgical Technique, this minimally invasive take on gum recession surgery allows Dr. Rafaat to correct your problem using only tiny holes in your gums to do the job. Hereโ€™s how it works:

Dr. Rafaat makes a hole in your gum tissue.
With special instruments, he loosens your gum tissue.
He slides your gum tissue down.

Once heโ€™s satisfied with the gum placement, ensuring that the roots of your teeth are well-covered, he slides a strip of collagen into the area. The collagen works with your body to strengthen and stabilize the tissue, holding it in place.

What You Can Expect After Graft-Free Gum Surgery
One of the greatest advantages of this new technique is that youโ€™re not dealing with sutures and painful areas from where your skin was taken to form a graft. Instead, Dr. Rafaat gets the same results with only a needle and your existing tissue, and you go home with less pain.

This also means that you have something to smile about a lot sooner, because your recovery time is a fraction of the time it took with skin grafting.

Still, you need to exercise caution for a little while after your surgery to protect your gums. Dr. Rafaat supplies you with full aftercare instructions for eating and cleaning, as well as general care of the surgical site.

How You Sign Up

During your initial consultation, Dr. Rafaat needs to ensure youโ€™re a good candidate for the Pinhole procedure. This means that you canโ€™t have any active periodontal disease and your health needs to be in tiptop shape. If youโ€™re still dealing with gum disease, we work with you to clear it up first and then review your surgical options to restore your gumline.

The health of your gums may seem minor, but their role in your dental, and overall, health cannot be underscored enough. Gum health is crucial in preventing the loss of your teeth, and it also prevents bacteria or other foreign invaders from coming in through your mouth and wreaking havoc elsewhere in your body.

We hope weโ€™ve answered everything about the Pinhole procedure, but if you still have some questions or want to see if youโ€™re a good candidate, please give us a call or use the online scheduling form on this website to book an appointment.

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