Periodontal procedures enhance restorative and cosmetic dentistry. This will help improve the overall health and aesthetics of your smile.
Cosmetic Crown Lengthening
If your teeth appear short and you show a lot of gum when you smile, you may want to ask Dr. Ramos how you can improve your "gummy" smile. Your teeth may actually be the correct or ideal length, but they are covered by too much gum tissue. Crown lengthening can expose the hidden beauty of your teeth and correct the problem.
During the procedure, the excess gum tissue and bone is reshaped to uncover more of the natural tooth. This can be done to one tooth, or several teeth, to expose a natural beautiful smile. Your dentist may also recommend crown lengthening to make a crown procedure possible. For instance, if a tooth is badly worn, decayed or fractured below the gum line, or had insufficient tooth structure for a restoration for a crown or bridge. Crown lengthening not only adjusts the gum and bone levels, but it also exposes more of the tooth so it can be restored.
Please refer to the Before and After page for photos.
Soft Tissue Ridge Augmentation
When you lose one or more teeth one of the options is to replace the missing tooth is with a bridge. Sometimes, after the extraction of a tooth, you can get an indentation in your jawbone and gums where the tooth used to be. This may happen because the jawbone and gum recedes since there is no longer a tooth or implant in place. Not only is this unnatural looking, but it also causes the replacement tooth to look longer in length when compared to the adjacent teeth.
Dr. Ramos can fill this "defect" with a procedure called a soft tissue ridge augmentation. This procedure simply recaptures the natural contour of your gums and jaw before you lost your tooth. Now the false tooth on the bridge will seem to be coming out from the gum as if it was a natural tooth with an underlying root.
Root Coverage
Soft tissue or gum grafts can be used to cover unsightly exposed roots. When roots are exposed, it may present a cosmetic concern, not to mention, a health concern. Dr. Ramos can rebuild the lost gum tissue and give you back that beautiful symmetrical smile. This can also prevent root decay. Most importantly, it can reduce tooth sensitivity and give you back the gum level you once had.
Please refer to the Before and After page for photos.
Frenectomy
A frenum (also called frenulum) is a band of tissue that connects or holds down a part of the body such as the tongue, lip or cheeks. Occasionally, a frenum might be exceptionally thick or tight, or may extend too far down along the tongue or the gum. When a frenum is positioned in such a way as to interfere with the alignment of the teeth, cause abnormal tugging of the gums causing teeth separation or gum recession, it can be repositioned or removed by a simple procedure called frenectomy. The frenum can also cause restrictive movement of the tongue and cause speech problems such as lisping, what they call 'tongue tied'. These conditions can be corrected to restore a healthy balance to your mouth.
Please refer to the Before and After page for photos.