Restoring Healthy Gums with Osseous Surgery

Effective Treatment for Gum Disease

Patients diagnosed with gum disease may need to undergo treatment with osseous surgery, otherwise known as flap surgery. Osseous surgery is reserved for cases of moderate to advanced periodontal disease and may be the best option when treatments like scaling and root planing therapy have not been successful. Dr. LaPorta, Dr. Thacker, and Dr. Zhang have perfected this technique to decrease pocket depths associated with periodontal disease.

How Osseous Surgery Is Performed

The goal of this procedure is to eliminate periodontal pockets and smooth bone discrepancies, and is usually performed when the pockets have become deeper over time. We perform this procedure under local anesthesia and will need to make a small incision in the gums. We lift the gum tissue away from the tooth to access the root surfaces and bone in the underlying area. We can then clean the root surfaces of any plaque and tartar buildup before smoothing the bone of any rough surfaces. The last step involves trimming back some of the gum tissue before suturing it in place to start the healing process.