Surgical Procedures

Guided Bone Regeneration

Traditionally, periodontal disease is treated by eliminating the infected gum tissue and by re-contouring the uneven bone tissue. Although this is still an effective way of treating gum disease, new and more sophisticated procedures are used routinely today.

Guided Bone Regeneration "regenerates" the previously lost bone. Depending on the pattern of bone loss, different techniques and products may be used. 

Many times, a bone graft material may be placed to help regenerate missing bone.  This material is actually replaced by your own bone over time.  When a bone graft is placed, a guided tissue membrane may be placed over the graft to hold it in place and to prevent soft tissue from growing into the area. Most of these membranes resorb by themselves, while others will require removal.

Other bio-active materials may also be used to regenerate missing bone.  Emdogain© gel is a product designed to trigger bone regeneration using a protein called amelogenin. GEM21S© is a product combining an active growth factor protein, platelet-derived growth factor, with a synthetic bone substitute material, beta-tricalcium phosphate.