Before & After Results
Gum Grafting
The benefits of soft tissue grafting is not only to cover the roots, but to thicken the thin soft tissue biotype and replace it with a thicker, more resilient biotype. Gingival recession is indicative of bone loss. Therefore, the primary reason to perform a soft tissue graft is to prevent further bone loss.
All soft tissue grafting cases by Dr. Choi are done with autogenous tissue using the less invasive methods of tunneling and single incision donor site harvesting. Autogenous tissue has been shown in studies to be more resilient to relapse than allograft sources (alloderm and purous dermis). In 5 year studies, autogenous tissue retained on average 97% of the initial postop result while allograft sources retained on average 57%. In addition, tunneling and single incision donor site harvesting are less invasive procedures which translate into better blood supply, better post surgical results, and most importantly for the patient, less pain!
I ask all my patients about their level of discomfort after the procedures and they all state on a level of pain scale from 1-10, that their usual experience is a 1-2.
Gummy Smile
Conversely to the problem of having a thin tissue biotype, some patients have the problem of having too thick of a bone and soft tissue biotype.
This results in patients who have a problem of excess bone and soft tissue which results in inadequate display of their teeth. This problem can be fixed with esthetic crown lengthening which are coordinated in conjunction with the general dentist to ensure the adequate and appropriate removal of bone and gingiva.
The results are stable and the pain level is minimal. Again, most patients claim the pain levels are about 1-3 on a scale of 1-10.
Bone Grafting
On occasion, patients need more bone to adequately place implants. Not only this, but recent research shows that peri-implantitis can be avoided and the long term prognosis can be improved if implants have 2mm of facial/buccal bone. GBR/Ridge augmentation is a procedure which utilizes barriers/membranes to allow more bone growth.
