Have you come across anyone who got their teeth extracted even if their teeth are healthy? Why would a dentist do that? Well, yes! At times your dentist decides to get your tooth extracted even if there isn’t any decay present. But Why so? Your dentist plans on removing the tooth that has poor gum support and compromised gum health. When gums are not healthy and cannot hold the tooth in place and starts becoming loose. That’s when it reaches the stage where it needs an extraction.

Gum contouring surgeries could prevent tooth extractions if you have swollen and puffy gums. Swollen gums affect millions of people across the globe. The progression of these gum diseases is one of the main reasons why your teeth become loose with time. In fact, it’s one of the most common challenges that dentists face in their day-to-day practice.

But how do gum contouring surgeries exactly help prevent tooth extractions? Let’s find out.

It starts with bleeding gums

You know that feeling you have when you’re brushing your teeth, and your gums start to bleed? We do too. It’s like the worst. In fact, 90% of adults experience gum disease at least once in their lives. And it’s even worse when you find out that bleeding gums is often an early sign-on gum disease. Gum contouring surgeries could prevent tooth extractions if you have swollen and puffy gums.

Swollen gums affect millions of people across the globe. The progression of these gum diseases is one of the main reasons why your teeth become loose with time. While it might not seem like a huge deal, it is important to take care of your gums. If you don’t, the disease can progress and lead to swollen and puffy gums. The good news is that gum disease is easy to prevent. When plaque and calculus build up on the teeth, it irritates the gums, causing them to recede and bleed.

First sign of gum disease

Bleeding gums are the first sign of gum disease—and plaque and calculus are the reason. Plaque is a sticky film that builds up on teeth, made of bacteria and food debris. If you don’t brush your teeth regularly, this buildup can harden into a substance called calculus, or tartar. In addition to causing bleeding gums, plaque can also cause bad breath and tooth decay.

Gingivitis is the early stage of gum disease. At this point, your gums may bleed easily when you brush or floss your teeth, but they don’t hurt. The good news is that gingivitis is reversible with proper dental hygiene and regular dental visits. But if it’s not treated, gingivitis can advance to periodontitis (gum disease), which causes the inner layer of gum and bone to pull away from your teeth and form pockets. These pockets fill with bacteria and pus, which can cause even more severe problems if they aren’t treated.

Swollen and puffy gums

The stage of bleeding gums now progresses and causes your gums to become inflamed. Inflammation of the gums mostly comes from the irritation caused by plaque and calculus deposits on the teeth around the gums. This inflammation causes your gums to become swollen and gives a puffy appearance.

The gums appear shiny and bulky, and the bleeding continues. Sometimes this condition can also be painful to touch or while brushing your teeth, flossing, gum massaging, or even while chewing food. If this condition is left untreated, it can lead to loss of gum attachment and gum support.

Loss of gum attachment

In healthy conditions, your gums are tightly attached to your teeth with elastic fibers and ligaments called the periodontal ligaments.

When plaque and calculus build up in the space between our gum line and tooth, it causes our gums to become swollen and puffy. This can make them appear redder than normal, so it’s easy to mistake this for a sign of infection.

But what is actually happening is that the gum disease is progressing. Your gums lose their attachment due to interference from plaque and calculus, they begin to pull away from the teeth underneath. This process can lead to pockets between the teeth and gum line that trap food debris. These pockets create an ideal environment for bacteria to grow, leading to periodontal disease (infections of the gums and bone).

Loose teeth & need for extraction

Your gums lose their attachment due to interference from plaque and calculus, they begin to pull away from the teeth underneath. This process can lead to pockets between the teeth and gum line that trap food debris. These pockets create an ideal environment for bacteria to grow, leading to periodontal disease (infections of the gums and bone).

Gums are the reason why your teeth stay where they are. Your gums are the support system of your teeth. They hold the tooth firm and steady and withstand the chewing forces. With inflamed gums, swollen gums, puffy gums, deep pockets, loss of gum attachment, there is also loss of gum support.

Once the gum support and attachment is lost the gums recede down. This further hampers the tooth support. As the disease keeps progressing, the teeth, then become loose and start shaking reaching a stage where it needs a tooth extraction.

What is gum contouring surgery?

Gum contouring surgery or gingivectomy is the medical procedure of reshaping your gums to remove excess or unhealthy gum tissue around your teeth to improve your gum health.

This process can help treat gum disease and improve healing of the gum tissues. The procedure involves cutting away the damaged part of the gums and reshaping healthy gum tissue over the exposed areas of teeth, creating a more aesthetically pleasing gum line.

It’s then sutured to the remaining tissue together into a new shape, which will make it look pinker and healthier.

How does gum contouring prevent tooth extraction?

Gum contouring is a procedure that reshapes the gums around your teeth and can save your tooth extraction. How?

Gum contouring surgery first includes a cleaning procedure followed by removal of all the infection, scraping and curettage of the damages tissues. Improved gum healing is then achieved through improved blood circulation in the gums. This further prevents loss of gum attachment and loss of gum support. This then prevents your teeth from becoming loose and further deterioration.

Once the gum inflammation is reduced, gums are contoured and reshaped so that they provide better coverage of your teeth and improve their appearance as well as function. If gum attachment to the tooth is enough to support the tooth, you naturally avoid the need for a tooth extraction.

The bottom line

Gum contouring surgery is a great option for those who have swollen, puffy, and possibly infected gums that make it difficult to keep their teeth. Most of the time these surgeries are performed on those with gum disease known as gingivitis. Gum contouring surgery helps with receding gums and prevents tooth complications that can lead to tooth extractions.

Highlights

• Compromised gum health can make your tooth loose. Loose teeth eventually have to go for removal.
• Poor gum health can make your gums swollen, puffy, and inflamed. As the disease progresses gums start forming pockets and recede down.
• Gum contouring surgery removes the damaged gum tissues and keeps them healthy.
• Healthy gums help you avoid landing in a situation where you would need to remove your tooth.