Frequently Asked Questions - General FAQs

They use normal sight, magnifying glasses, microscopes and fibre-optic cleaning devices to see above the gum and to try and see below the gum line. The cleaning below the gum can be guided by x-rays taken at the start but also relies very heavily on operator skill and tactile sensitivity.

This term refers to the fact that a fully successful treatment of the gum infection is achieved without any traditional surgical (cutting and stitching/suturing) procedures. The advantages are lower cost, less pain, less professional / social disruption for the patient, regeneration of tissues that were in the incomplete process of destruction and less post treatment gum recession. The disadvantages are the longer duration of active treatment, numbers of visits are more and the potential lower guarantee of adequate cleaning by the professionals due to the greater degree of skill and experience required.

This term refers to the fact that the gums in all affected target areas are surgically loosened off the tooth (physically cut loose from the teeth) and sowed back on at the completion of the procedure. The advantages are that any deposits on the teeth can be seen better and thus removed with greater guarantee , that abnormal shapes of the jaw bone can be corrected , that advanced attempts at rebuilding lost bone and gum can be done at the same time. The disadvantages are greater cost (vastly if the whole mouth is done at once under sedation or general anaesthetic), increased pain, greater disruption of professional and social obligations, loss of natural repair at the edge of the disease process, a need for basic cleaning anyway before the surgery is attempted and greater risk of unsightly gum recession due to the compounding effect of the surgery.

The black spaces that develop between the teeth are due to loss of the bone that is supposed to support the gums in closing these spaces. It can be caused by incorrect cleaning/ oral hygiene , untreated gum infection and the treatment of gum infection ( See “Surgical Gum Treatment?” above)

The cleaning process can be done surgically in a segmental approach or the whole mouth at once.

No. A gum infection is generally something that you acquire outside of the dentist office. Dental practices are subject to ethics and protocols to prevent cross infection and contamination through the application of barrier techniques, disinfection and sterilisation.

Any dental treatment may disturb the balance that has developed between the body and the the slow attack of a pre-existing gum infection This may then present as a flare-up making you aware that something is wrong with the gums for the first time. However, even in a healthy mouth, if any dental restoration is placed too deeply below the gum line or the gum seal is damaged during treatment for whatever reason or cause, such a physical injury may render the area vulnerable to the opportunistic invasion by plaque and result in a gum infection of which you may be aware. If the biological perimeters have not been irreversibly breached by the synthetic restoration, the area may recover with simple good oral hygiene. If the perimeters around the teeth have been breached , further intervention may be required.( See “ Crown Lengthening” elsewhere)

Sometimes, tooth decay may have developed beyond the borders of the visible part of the tooth and may have spread down the tooth root. In order to make the area accessible for a filling or to move the gum perimeter further down the tooth and away from the filling, it is necessary to surgically remove some surrounding gum tissue to make the filling possible and render a gum profile that will not be irritated by the filling.

Although a type of bacterially caused gum infection called trench mouth (Ulcerative Gingivitis) does occur in closed groups ie First World War trenches (was called trench mouth), gum infection is not an easily transmissible disease. It is a private matter with other social repercussions.

No naturally occurring gum disease exists in many animals and can be created artificially in a range of laboratory animals.