What is the Pinhole Surgical Technique?

The health of your gums is just as important as the health of your teeth. Our gums play in integral role in our overall mouth structure, protecting the roots of our teeth from bacteria and infection, such as that which occurs in periodontal disease, and holding our teeth in place in their sockets. Your dentist will take your gum health extremely seriously and will be assessing their condition at your dental appointments.
 

Unfortunately, there are a number of different issues that can affect our gums. Many of these arise as a result of periodontal disease. Also known by other names such as gum disease, this occurs when plaque that forms on the teeth isn’t cleaned away properly through brushing and flossing and spreads onto the gum tissue, causing irritation and infection. Periodontal disease is progressive, meaning that if it isn’t dealt with promptly, it will get worse and have more severe consequences for your gum, teeth, and overall health. One of the more common effects of moderate to severe periodontal disease is gum recession.
 

Gum recession: an overview

Gum recession is characterized by the soft tissue of the gums receding or pulling away from the teeth. This causes gaps to develop around the base of the teeth where further bacteria and food particles can become trapped, worsening your periodontal disease and causing further problems. This can also make your teeth look longer than usual.

While gum recession is predominantly caused by periodontal disease, it can also occur due to a number of other reasons including:

• Brushing your teeth too hard, which causes the gum tissue to be pushed away from the base of the teeth.

• Injury/trauma to the gum tissue.

• A condition called bruxism which is characterized by the unconscious clenching/grinding of your teeth while you sleep.
   

While there are a number of options for treating gum recession, one of the newest and least invasive is known as the Pinhole Surgical Technique.
 

Pinhole Surgical Technique: an overview

This technique, also referred to as the Chao Pinhole Technique after the dentist that founded it, is a revolutionary method for treating gum recession. Until fairly recently, patients only really had one option to repair gums that had pulled away from the teeth – gum grafting. A process that means taking soft tissue from another area of the mouth and surgically attaching it to the gums. As you may guess, this method, which is still used across the country, is very invasive and requires patients to undergo a significant recovery period while their gums heal.

In contrast, the Pinhole Surgical Technique is actually a minimally invasive way to cover the gaps caused by receding gums. This simple process involves making a small, pin-sized hole into the gum tissue through which your dentist will make a number of small adjustments to the gum tissue in order to replace it back over the tooth roots and next to the teeth. This involves lifting, loosening, and expanding the gum tissue with special tools. The entire procedure is completely free from scalpels and sutures, and patients will still be given a local anesthetic to ensure that they don’t experience any discomfort. And since there are no sutures and no healing to take place, patients can get back to their usual day to day activities, including eating the foods that they enjoy, immediately following their procedure. Results will also be evident straight away.
 

If you have any further questions about the Pinhole Surgical Technique, our dedicated dental team would be delighted to answer them. Please contact us to schedule your consultation.