RICK GLASSMAN, DDS Brings New Treatment For Receding Gums To The California Health and Longevity Institute and Westlake Village, CA
“This is a revolutionary alternative to gum grafting,” says Dr. Glassman. Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation™ requires no cutting, no sutures and virtually no downtime.
(WESTLAKE VILLAGE – January 14, 2014) – Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation™, is a new minimally invasive treatment for receding gums without the invasive surgery and recovery time required with gum grafting. Dr. Glassman is among the first group dentists and periodontists to be trained in the new technique, invented by Los Angeles dentist Dr. John Chao. The treatment is also known as the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique™.
“The conventional treatment for receding gums is gum grafting surgery, an invasive procedure in which a section of gum tissue must be cut out of the palate, then sewn on to the affected area,” says Glassman. “Because of the surgery and recovery time, dentists will usually treat only one or two teeth, then wait for the patient to heal before treating additional teeth. For a patient with several recessions, the treatment process could take months or even years.”
Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation™ takes just a few minutes per tooth treated and most importantly multiple teeth may be treated at the same time, allowing patients to have healthy, normal-looking gums with a minimum of inconvenience.
Receding gums can affect people of all ages. Symptoms can include sensitivity to cold temperatures and if left untreated gum recession can lead to eventual tooth loss. Receding gums can be caused by excessive tooth brushing, gum disease or the normal aging process. “Many people are unaware of the condition until their teeth become sensitive while others are concerned by the unsightly appearance of their gums,” says
The Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation™ treatment process:
The area of gum recession is numbed with a local anesthetic. Depending on the number of recessions to be treated one or two small entry points about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen are made in the gum area near the tooth or teeth to be treated.
A small, specially designed dental instrument is inserted into the entry point to loosen the gum tissues and move them back into a normal, healthy position. Then tiny collagen strips are placed through the entry point under the gums. The collagen helps to keep the gums in place during the healing process. The treatment takes about 20 minutes to an hour or so, depending on the number of teeth treated. The entry site quickly heals and the pinhole is virtually undetectable the next day, with no downtime needed for healing. Some patients may experience mild swelling, which dissipates in a few days.
A 33-month study of 43 patients with 121 gum recessions using the Pinhole Surgical Technique™ was published in the October 2012, issue of The International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry. The results of this study were as successful as traditional gum grafting procedures which require cutting and sutures, while patients who underwent the Pinhole Surgical Technique™ reported virtually no pain, no bleeding and high satisfaction with a rapid transformation of the defective gum line. (Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent 2012; 32: 521-531.)
For more information or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Glassman, visit: