Minimally Invasive Technique to Reverse Gum Recession: The Gum Drop Technique

For many of our patients gum recession is an issue of vital concern due to imperfect esthetics & likelihood of decay & sensitivity. With evolution in technology & dentistry, patients expect the procedures to be minimally invasive with less or no postoperative discomfort. The incorporation of gum drop technique in order to cover the exposed root surfaces has gained popularity worldwide. This soft tissue grafting technique requires minimal incision (holes) & involves use of growth factors from patient’s own blood.

What leads to gum recession?

According to the studies conducted, 50-55% of population between 20-65 years of age have one or more recession sites.

Factors that leads to gum recession includes:

Faulty tooth brushing: many of our patients think vigorous tooth brushing & use of a brush with harder bristles removes plaque & debris more efficaciously. These widely believed myths cause your gums to recede. Hence, gentle brushing with softer bristles is enough to remove the plaque, whereas, calculus (calcified plaque) should be removed by your dental professional.
Poor oral hygiene: poor oral hygiene not only affects your oral cavity but also your overall health i.e. “Oral health=overall health”. Plaque not removed everyday leads to accumulation of calcified plaque i.e. calculus which gets accumulated over & beneath the gums, causes gums to shift from their original position. Hence, always remember “Do not rush when you brush”.
Smoking: along with recession smoking also leads to bone loss around teeth & oral cancer. Thereby, cessation of smoking helps you & your teeth last a lifetime.

Age: relation of age & recession is worthy of attention. Use of abrasives, medications over time & periodontal disease disrupts one’s oral cavity.

Why receded gums need to be treated?

We are well aware that gums cover the teeth & bone. Once the gums begin to recede, teeth roots get exposed which eventually end up causing increased sensitivity to sweet & cold that leads to increased patient discomfort. Along with the increased sensitivity, exposed root surfaces become vulnerable to decay. Apparently, if gum recession not treated at correct time, it can lead to tooth loss.

Thereby, for smile esthetics, balance, harmony & continuity of form are the factors that must be considered. Gingiva outline tooth’s emergence profile, henceforth, with gingival recession, properties of smile esthetics can deteriorate. In order to balance the factors, gingival recession needs to be treated at appropriate time.

Gum drop technique

There are many root coverage procedures with different success rate & each has their own pros & cons. Although, autogenous connective tissue grafting is the gold standard procedure for recession, since, the procedure involves graft from a secondary site which leads to morbidity, increased pain & inadequate tissue for full arch or quadrant grafting.

Thereby, to overcome these limitations gum drop technique has been introduced that encircles the favourable advantages of minimally invasive & autogenous growth factors altogether.

Procedure Involves:

Before beginning with surgery, patient’s own blood is collected in 10ml vials without addition of anticoagulant & the blood vials are immediately centrifuged for 8 minutes at 1300 Rpm.

After completion of centrifugation, using tweezers & scissors platelet rich fibrin clot is separated from RBCs. Using the lid of PRF box A-PRF membranes are fabricated.

Root surfaces of the teeth to be treated are mechanically & chemically decontaminated via scalers, diamond fine burs (to remove accretions) & antibiotic like minocycline.
Using specialized instruments small holes are created in the gums 6-7 mm above the mucogingival junction (to treat full arch 4 holes are considered to be enough). A mucoperiosteal tissue is tunneled & fabricated A-PRF membranes are introduced inside the elevated tissue.
The tension free released tissue is advanced towards the CEJ & stabilized with sutures for at least 3-4 weeks.

This new approach for root coverage along with being minimally invasive & use of growth factors denotes rapid healing without need of secondary donor site. Over the years, this approach have improved case acceptance along with decreased morbidity, postoperative pain & complications.

For years, people have been avoiding treatment for their receded gums because of the fear of pain & swelling. If you suffer from gum recession & experiencing increased sensitivity or black triangles, we are pleased to announce that we practice minimally invasive technique for root coverage, for more information contact Dr. Sachdeva’s Dental Institute & schedule a visit.