Receiving professional treatment for periodontal (gum) disease is imperative to seeing an improvement in your oral health. Without professional intervention, gum disease can progress to the point that it destroys a person’s oral health. Advanced gum disease is powerful enough to erode soft tissue and bone. This condition is also the number one cause of tooth loss in adulthood.
There are options when it comes to treating gum disease, and some procedures are more invasive than others. Fortunately, our periodontist offers minimally invasive periodontal surgery (also called VMIS). This treatment option focuses on reducing the invasiveness of accessing, removing, and cleaning gingival tissue while also creating an environment for new tissue growth.
What is minimally invasive periodontal surgery?
Minimally invasive periodontal surgery (VMIS) is a treatment option that surgically removes diseased tissue in the gingiva. Before minimally invasive options, common protocols for treating advanced gum disease typically included a procedure called gum flap surgery. While traditional periodontal surgery is still necessary in some cases, there are many patients who make great candidates for VMIS.
With traditional treatment, gums are opened so that a flap is created. This flap is then gently pulled back to give a periodontist access to the innermost areas of the gingiva. From this point, the gingiva and periodontal pockets are cleaned. Necrotized tissue is removed and the flap is sutured back in its rightful place.
VMIS, on the other hand, reduces invasiveness of traditional flap surgery significantly. This is achieved by creating small incisions throughout the treatment site instead of larger incisions. Then, using a small camera, the areas beneath the incisions can be viewed in high resolution. This allows our team to perform treatment only where it is needed. Infected tissue is cleaned and root surface debris is removed. Once this process is complete, a bone graft packed with growth factors is placed to protect bone health and encourage new tissue generation. A single suture is typically all that is required to close the surgical sites.
Periodontal disease is a condition that should be treated as quickly as possible. The advancement of this disease can ruin your oral health. Call us today at BC Perio to reserve an appointment with our periodontist.
