Bleeding gums are not normal. If your gums bleed, it means there’s a problem lurking; you could have gum pockets or even bone loss. When it gets this bad, it’s called “periodontitis.” One way to know is to make certain your dentist or hygienist uses a millimeter ruler (periodontal probe), that measures the amount the gums have separated from your teeth. Even if your gums are not bleeding, you could have severe periodontitis that puts you at risk factor for heart problems, strokes, respiratory diseases, and more. A diagnosis of bleeding gums or periodontal (periodontitis) disease does not mean all is lost. Gum pockets can be treated a number of ways that include scraping (known as scaling and root planing), to gum surgery often referred to as flap or osseous surgery. An alternative to surgical treatment of periodontal problems is using a laser (Periolase). This procedure ablates, sterilizes, and seals deep pockets to promote healing. This is known as the LANAP laser gum surgery.
Bleeding gums is a sign of a problem that needs to be addressed. The next time you visit your dentist, make certain he or she uses a periodontal probe and explains, in exact terms, how healthy or unhealthy your gums really are. Your life may depend on it.
Showing posts with label gum surgery nyc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gum surgery nyc. Show all posts
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Launching a New Dental Practice Is a Challenge in This Economy
What most people inherently know but don’t think about is that unless it’s an emergency like a throbbing toothache or a facial swelling that requires immediate care, dentistry competes for discretionary dollars. What sort of discretionary dollars? New clothes, vacations, jewelry, presents or even that new car. Being mindful that this is not a good economic environment to start a dental practice, Dr. Alan Winter still decided to leave his periodontal group practice and strike out on his own. In order to achieve this goal, a number of thought processes were critical in how he went about this daunting task. The first step was to find a suitable office.
In New York City, this is not easy. He had to be in mid-town, and he had to be centrally located to both his referring dentists and to public transportation. He also had to find a building willing to take on a dentist as a tenant, because many buildings look unfavorably on dentists due to the traffic of patients, water needs, and the smell of medicaments (even though this is ancient history). As luck would have it, a colleague, Dr. Marc Beshar was in the market to transfer his lease and existing dental office to a dentist so that he could move his cosmetic practice a few blocks over to a landmark building. Dr. Beshar’s needs turned into the first cornerstone of Dr. Winter’s plan: find an existing office to minimize dollars required to build out a new facility.
In this case, Dr. Beshar had four operatories and a laboratory that was in a room large enough to be turned into a treatment room. In addition, he had already negotiated a new lease with his building’s landlord, paving the way for another dentist to continue in his space. When Dr. Winter learned of this opportunity, he jumped at the chance of taking over the lease in a favorable location with a landlord committed to a dental tenant. Dr. Winter bought the existing equipment from Dr. Beshar and an added benefit was to turn the laboratory into a fifth treatment room.
As soon as the deal was struck, Dr. Winter next searched for associates to form a group that would offer a full range of periodontal treatments, including periodontal (osseous) surgery, gum grafts, dental implants, laser gum surgery and more and help pay for the expenses to run the office. Dr. Winter put an ad in the New York State Dental Journal, and within a month had met and interviewed three outstanding candidates. Rather than pick one, he selected all three who were young and eager to start periodontal practices in Manhattan, but did not have the means or opportunity do to so these tough economic times. So within three months, Dr. Winter went from considering starting a new periodontal practice to not only acquiring and readying a new office, but forming Central Park Periodontics, that will immediately impact New York City dentistry and periodontal care as it is launched on July 1, 2010.
In New York City, this is not easy. He had to be in mid-town, and he had to be centrally located to both his referring dentists and to public transportation. He also had to find a building willing to take on a dentist as a tenant, because many buildings look unfavorably on dentists due to the traffic of patients, water needs, and the smell of medicaments (even though this is ancient history). As luck would have it, a colleague, Dr. Marc Beshar was in the market to transfer his lease and existing dental office to a dentist so that he could move his cosmetic practice a few blocks over to a landmark building. Dr. Beshar’s needs turned into the first cornerstone of Dr. Winter’s plan: find an existing office to minimize dollars required to build out a new facility.
In this case, Dr. Beshar had four operatories and a laboratory that was in a room large enough to be turned into a treatment room. In addition, he had already negotiated a new lease with his building’s landlord, paving the way for another dentist to continue in his space. When Dr. Winter learned of this opportunity, he jumped at the chance of taking over the lease in a favorable location with a landlord committed to a dental tenant. Dr. Winter bought the existing equipment from Dr. Beshar and an added benefit was to turn the laboratory into a fifth treatment room.
As soon as the deal was struck, Dr. Winter next searched for associates to form a group that would offer a full range of periodontal treatments, including periodontal (osseous) surgery, gum grafts, dental implants, laser gum surgery and more and help pay for the expenses to run the office. Dr. Winter put an ad in the New York State Dental Journal, and within a month had met and interviewed three outstanding candidates. Rather than pick one, he selected all three who were young and eager to start periodontal practices in Manhattan, but did not have the means or opportunity do to so these tough economic times. So within three months, Dr. Winter went from considering starting a new periodontal practice to not only acquiring and readying a new office, but forming Central Park Periodontics, that will immediately impact New York City dentistry and periodontal care as it is launched on July 1, 2010.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Periodontal (Gum) Disease and Laser Gum Surgery
Is gum disease common?
If you’ve been told you have periodontal (gum) disease, you're not alone. An estimated 80 percent of American adults currently have some form of the disease. Periodontal diseases range from simple gum inflammation to serious damage to the soft tissue and bone that support the teeth. Untreated, gum disease can progress to the point that teeth need to be removed. Gum disease is the major cause of tooth loss in adults.
Gum disease is a threat to your oral health. Research points to the possible health effects of periodontal diseases that go well beyond your mouth, and may be linked to other systemic conditions. Whether gum disease is stopped, slowed down, or gets worse depends a great deal on how well you practice oral hygiene ad care for your teeth and gums daily, as well as with the assistance and treatment by dental professionals, you dentist and his/her dental hygienist.
What are the symptoms of gum disease?
Here are the most common symptoms of gum disease. If you have any of these, you should consult your dentist about the health of your gums and teeth.
* Red, swollen, or tender gums
* Bleeding while brushing, flossing, or when eating hard food
* Receding gums that pull away from the teeth that cause teeth to look longer than before
* Loose teeth
* New spaces forming between teeth at the gum line, often trapping food
* Spreading of teeth that once touched one to the other
* Persistent bad breath (halitosis)
* A change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite
* Bone loss noted on dental X-rays
* Gum pockets greater than 3 millimeters
If you have gum disease, can a laser (LANAP) gum procedure help your condition?
In most instances, laser (LANAP) gum procedures can help patients diagnosed with gum disease. While Dr. Winter, who is a board-certified periodontist, does perform traditional periodontal procedures such as flap surgery, osseous surgery, bone grafts, dental implants, gum grafts and more, as a result of his special training, he is certified to offer LASER therapy as an alternative to other conventional forms of gum treatment. The LANAP™™ procedure can successfully be performed on patients with diabetes, patients on aspirin therapy, patients who take blood-thinners such as Coumadin or Plavix, patients with osteoporosis, patients on bisphosphonates such as Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, Reclast and as well as other medical conditions. If you’ve been told you would benefit from gum surgery, then LASER therapy is certainly an option to consider, and it is an option that is simple to perform and comfortable for the patient.
The LANAP™ utilizes a tiny beam of LASER energy to treat moderate to severe periodontal disease. This LASER light gently removes harmful bacteria and diseased tissue from the gum pocket. In effect, it sterilizes both the infected pocket and the tooth root. Sterilizing the hard outer shell of the tooth root, known as cementum, is critical to the success of the LANAP™ because endotoxins that are secreted by harmful bacterial pathogens become embedded into the root surface. This process is more thorough and effective than the traditional scraping of the roots commonly referred to as scaling or root planning. This insures the best opportunity to remove the endotoxins so the tissues in the pocket have an opportunity to regenerate.
Clinical example
The image on the left is the before X-ray. It depicts severe bone loss characterized by a darker gray between two incisors (lower front teeth). This darkness means less bone is present. At examination, the gum pocket was 10 mm deep. (Pockets cannot be seen on X-rays). Treatment options for this problem included removing the tooth, performing gum surgery and inserting a bone graft while using a guided tissue membrane, or treating the gum pocket with a laser. A laser gum surgery was performed and the X-ray on the right is a 3-month followup. It demonstrates that the dark bone is becoming lighter in color; this translates to the fact that new bone is forming. This area will be monitored in the coming months and years, but at the present time, the residual pocket is healthy and only measures 1 mm in depth.
If you’ve been told you have periodontal (gum) disease, you're not alone. An estimated 80 percent of American adults currently have some form of the disease. Periodontal diseases range from simple gum inflammation to serious damage to the soft tissue and bone that support the teeth. Untreated, gum disease can progress to the point that teeth need to be removed. Gum disease is the major cause of tooth loss in adults.
Gum disease is a threat to your oral health. Research points to the possible health effects of periodontal diseases that go well beyond your mouth, and may be linked to other systemic conditions. Whether gum disease is stopped, slowed down, or gets worse depends a great deal on how well you practice oral hygiene ad care for your teeth and gums daily, as well as with the assistance and treatment by dental professionals, you dentist and his/her dental hygienist.
What are the symptoms of gum disease?
Here are the most common symptoms of gum disease. If you have any of these, you should consult your dentist about the health of your gums and teeth.
* Red, swollen, or tender gums
* Bleeding while brushing, flossing, or when eating hard food
* Receding gums that pull away from the teeth that cause teeth to look longer than before
* Loose teeth
* New spaces forming between teeth at the gum line, often trapping food
* Spreading of teeth that once touched one to the other
* Persistent bad breath (halitosis)
* A change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite
* Bone loss noted on dental X-rays
* Gum pockets greater than 3 millimeters
If you have gum disease, can a laser (LANAP) gum procedure help your condition?
In most instances, laser (LANAP) gum procedures can help patients diagnosed with gum disease. While Dr. Winter, who is a board-certified periodontist, does perform traditional periodontal procedures such as flap surgery, osseous surgery, bone grafts, dental implants, gum grafts and more, as a result of his special training, he is certified to offer LASER therapy as an alternative to other conventional forms of gum treatment. The LANAP™™ procedure can successfully be performed on patients with diabetes, patients on aspirin therapy, patients who take blood-thinners such as Coumadin or Plavix, patients with osteoporosis, patients on bisphosphonates such as Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, Reclast and as well as other medical conditions. If you’ve been told you would benefit from gum surgery, then LASER therapy is certainly an option to consider, and it is an option that is simple to perform and comfortable for the patient.
The LANAP™ utilizes a tiny beam of LASER energy to treat moderate to severe periodontal disease. This LASER light gently removes harmful bacteria and diseased tissue from the gum pocket. In effect, it sterilizes both the infected pocket and the tooth root. Sterilizing the hard outer shell of the tooth root, known as cementum, is critical to the success of the LANAP™ because endotoxins that are secreted by harmful bacterial pathogens become embedded into the root surface. This process is more thorough and effective than the traditional scraping of the roots commonly referred to as scaling or root planning. This insures the best opportunity to remove the endotoxins so the tissues in the pocket have an opportunity to regenerate.
Clinical example
The image on the left is the before X-ray. It depicts severe bone loss characterized by a darker gray between two incisors (lower front teeth). This darkness means less bone is present. At examination, the gum pocket was 10 mm deep. (Pockets cannot be seen on X-rays). Treatment options for this problem included removing the tooth, performing gum surgery and inserting a bone graft while using a guided tissue membrane, or treating the gum pocket with a laser. A laser gum surgery was performed and the X-ray on the right is a 3-month followup. It demonstrates that the dark bone is becoming lighter in color; this translates to the fact that new bone is forming. This area will be monitored in the coming months and years, but at the present time, the residual pocket is healthy and only measures 1 mm in depth.
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