The goal of any periodontal procedure is the same: reduce the amount of bacteria, decrease inflammation, and create an environment that can be maintained over time with good patient oral hygiene and consistent maintenance visits.
In some cases where gum and/or bone have been lost due to periodontal disease, it is possible to regenerate these tissues. These gum and bone grafting techniques are an ideal way of treating gum disease but are not always possible depending on the severity of the case. Other surgical procedures, although not designed to regenerate tissues, are also used to restore a patient’s gums to health.
In cases where the bone loss around a tooth is too advanced to treat, it is usually to the patient’s benefit to extract the tooth, place a bone graft to regenerate as much bone as possible, and then replace the tooth with a dental implant.