Traditionally, eliminating the gum pockets by trimming away the infected gum tissue and by re-contouring the uneven bone tissue treats gum disease. Although this is still an effective way of treating gum disease, new and more sophisticated procedures are used routinely today.
Guided Tissue Bone Regeneration “regenerates” the previously lost gum and bone tissue. These procedures can increase support for teeth and implants. Most techniques utilize membranes that are inserted over the bone defects. Some of these membranes are bio-absorbable and some require removal. Other regenerative procedures involve the use of bioactive growth factor gels. These techniques can also be combined with bone grafts to potentiate regeneration. These bone grafts consist of small particles of your own bone, tissue bank bone or synthetic material, that help stimulate bone growth or hold the space for your bone to regenerate into.