Dental Surgery vs. LANAP

       

Periodontal surgery is a process where gum tissue is detached from the teeth in order to clean out the bad bacteria all the way to the root. “Pain and recovery time is generally a part of this process,” says periodontist Dr.Rice. This process usually requires multiple visits that can be up to two hours each time as each quadrant of the mouth is done separately. This procedure also requires anesthetic in order to numb the area. Root scaling may be the first step, however if the periodontal disease is more severe you may need further appointments with surgery.

Once the gum tissue is separated from the tooth, the periodontist will use an ultrasonic tool or other scraping tool in order to go below the gum line and remove bad bacteria. Then the gum is reattached using sutures. Once your surgery is done, you will be sent on your way usually with instruction to rinse until your next appointment for the next quadrant. Once all four quadrants have been cleaned out you will be set up with regular visits until your gums are considered healthy again.

“There are pros and cons to every procedure,” suggests Dr. Rice, periodontist at Rice Periodontics and Implant Surgery, “With traditional periodontal surgery there is a high rate of success and there may be a lower cost initially than LANAP. However the LANAP protocol has a high success rate as well and several other benefits, such as reduced healing time.”.

While a patient diagnosed with periodontal disease will always have periodontal disease, patients who have undergone LANAP surgery tend to have a higher rate of success and some patients have even been fortunate enough to have gum tissue reattach to the teeth,  which reduces the amount of bacteria that will enter the pockets in the future.