What Is Gingivectomy? | Procedure, Pictures & Aftercare

A Gingivectomy removes or forms loose gum tissue to eliminate gingival pockets and gums. If you have gum disease, a dentist may recommend Gingivectomy to prevent further gum damage and help your dentist to have easier access to teeth for cleaning.

Procedure

A dentist may recommend the procedure if you have gingivitis, a bacterial infection, or a gum injury. Surgery may be necessary for severe gum disease or periodontitis if it cannot be cured with antibiotics, root gouging, or scaling. A gum specialist, periodontist, or oral surgeon will perform the operation.

Gingivectomy Before And After

Underneath, you can find some before and after pictures of clients who had a Gingivectomy procedure.

Gingivectomy Procedure

Your dentist may recommend this procedure if he discovers a gum disease during an examination or cleaning and wants to stop its progression. Gum disease causes an opening in the upper part of the teeth.

This leads to plaque, bacteria, and hardened plaque known as tartar. This accumulation can lead to further damage. A Gingivectomy for cosmetic reasons is also optional. Talk to a dentist about this and be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure.

It is a good idea to contact your insurance provider before planning a Gingivectomy so that you understand your benefits.

When this procedure is performed, the patient’s post-operative pain is minimal. If pain occurs after the procedure, it usually subsides after a few days and is controlled with pain relief medications.

The most common Gingivectomy is laser Gingivectomy; advances in laser technology continue to make these tools cheaper and easier to use.

However, laser procedures are more expensive and require more training than scalpel procedures.

Your dentist may offer a scalpel Gingivectomy if they are not trained properly or do not have the right equipment.

If you have health insurance, your plan may not cover laser surgery, but scalpel dentistry may be covered as it is cheaper.

Lasers are more precise, enable faster healing, and lower infection risk than possibly contaminated metal tools.

Your dentist injects a local anesthetic into the gums to numb the area. Then he or she cuts a piece of gum tissue with a scalpel or laser tool.

After the tissue is cut, your dentist will use a laser tool to vapourize the remaining tissue to form the gum line. During the procedure, the dentist’s assistant holds a suction tool in the mouth to remove excess saliva.

A Gingivectomy can take between 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how much gum tissue your dentist removes.

Minor procedures involving a single tooth or several teeth may require less time. Major gum removal and reshaping can require multiple visits, as your dentist will want one area to heal before moving on to the next.

After the procedure, the dentist will apply a soft ‘putty’ feeling substance on your gums to act as a bandage and to aid the healing process.

Aftercare Of Gingivectomy

Adequate plaque control is important to ensure the long-term results of surgery. It is vital to maintain the level of post-operative infection control so the patient can maintain a healthy periodontium.

Patients are advised not to rub against or get food near the operation’s area during the initial healing phase. The outcome of the Gingivectomy is influenced by other general factors such as the systemic status of the patient.

After the procedure, the patient is advised to rinse with appropriate anti-plaque agents. If the patient is struggling with self-fulfilling oral hygiene after the procedure due to pain or discomfort, regular visits to a specialist for dental cleaning are advisable.

If a patient does not maintain adequate oral hygiene during postoperative treatment, it is possible that the gum disease will return.

You may experience minor bleeding in the gums, so any bandages should be replaced often, and the area kept clean.

Your dentist will advise you on post-care instructions; if you are confused or unsure about something, you should call the dentist. You may be asked to go back for a follow-up check.

In the early stages of healing, an interdental brush is not recommended due to possible damage to the tissue.

You may experience pain in your jaw once the anesthetic has worn off. You can take ibuprofen or acetaminophen to manage your pain.

A cold compress or ice pack also can help, and a salt-water mouth rinse can help reduce the risk of infection. Avoid harsh mouthwash solutions and anti-septic as these irritate the open wound.

You should also avoid smoking, which can cause infection and slow the healing process. Sugary foods should also be avoided.

Electrical Surgery

Electrical surgery has been used in dentistry for more than 60 years. It is defined as the deliberate passage of a high-frequency waveform (current) through body tissues to achieve a controllable surgical effect.

Electrosurgery is not widely used due to several factors, including the cost and lack of available information about the procedure.

The basic types of electrosurgical techniques are clotting, dehydration, fulguration, electrosection, and cutting.

The majority of clinical operations are performed by electrosection. By changing the mode of activation of the current, electro-surgery can be used to cut and coagulate soft tissue.

It is crucial that a circuit is present in the surgical unit to allow the current to flow. There are two main types of electrosurgical units: monopolar and bipolar.

In a monopolar unit, separate electrodes must form an indifferent plate for the patient. The current starts in the electro-surgical unit and flows via a wire to a second electrode to the oral site.

Heat is generated when contact with the oral tissue and an incision occurs. With bipolar devices, there are two electrodes at their cutting point, and the current travels from one to the other, rendering the indifferent plate superfluous. Bipolar devices can also be manufactured with a wider cut.

Results of studies on the healing of electro-surgical wounds vary compared to scalpel wounds. Still, electro-surgical devices have been found to minimize bleeding, and most patients have little or no post-operative pain after surgery.

Laser Gingivectomy

Laser gingivectomy is a light enhancement that stimulates the emission of radiation, including ND (YAG), neodymium, yttrium, aluminum garnet laser, CO2 laser, and diode laser.

It has been suggested that lasers can significantly reduce bacteria such as Actinobacillus and Actinomycetemcomitans aa, reducing inflammation and facilitating healing.

Advantages of a laser Gingivectomy include:

• less bleeding
• no-contact surgery means less chance of infection and contamination
• sterilization of the surgical site
• faster healing time
• minimal post-operative pain
• less time to perform the surgery than the traditional scalpel technique

Laser treatment has also been suspected to lead to minimal post-operative swelling and scar tissue formation. It seems to have good patient acceptance, and patients report minimal pain.

The YAG laser can curettage pocket epitheliums and causes little or no damage to the underlying tissue.

One study found that recurrence was minimal or eliminated in patients with drug-induced gingival overgrowth compared to laser Gingivectomy and scalpel Gingivectomy.

Animal studies have shown that rat skin (ND / YAG ) responds better to laser applications after a scalpel cut.

However, this is only true when energy and frequency parameters are low, as high energy levels can lead to scarring and delay wound healing. Ablation and coagulation lasers sterilize tissue, eliminating the need for a postoperative bandage.