Periodontal Reconstruction - Dr. Victor Terranova discusses the restoration of structure and function of the diseased periodontium.
Dr. Victor Terranova received his BA from Rutgers College of Rutgers University in New Jersey. He received his DMD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1972 and his MS and PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Rochester in 1978. Specialty training in Periodontolgy was completed at the Eastman Dental Center of Strong Memorial Hospital, affiliated with the University of Rochester under the mentor of Dr. Helmut A. Zander in 1976.
After his training Dr. Terranova spent seven years as Senior Staff at the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Dental Research. Dr. Terranova is currently on the faculty of the California Implant institute. In 30 years of practice, Dr. Terranova has performed thousands of surgical procedures, including implant placement, periodontal surgery and grafts, sinus augmentation, and simple and complicated tooth extractions including 3rd molar extractions.
Periodontal disease was first treated back in the 1950’s and has undergone significant changes in the modality of treatment in the last 4-5 years. During the 1950’s the main focus of treating periodontal disease was to eliminate the ‘pyorrhea’ that was found in the patient’s mouth. Pyorrhea was the ‘man in the street’’ term for bleeding, pussy gums.
Since then various treatments have been proposed for treating adult periodontal disease and are used effectively. These include scaling and root planing and pocket elimination which has been the very foundation of treating periodontal disease. Getting rid of the periodontal pocket and making the tooth surface more accessible for the patient to clean.
Within the last 20 years however the methodology has changed. Instead of eliminating the periodontal pocket by cutting the gum tissue away, people have been more focused on rebuilding the periodontal apparatus in the mouth than the previous method of removing diseased gum tissue and enlarging the tooth surfaces.
By this we mean periodontal reconstructive surgery - rebuilding the patient’s periodontium ( the specialized tissues that both surround and support the teeth). This entails surgically opening the gums to expose the diseased root surfaces and the bone, then cleaning the inside of the soft tissue flap and reconstructing the ‘boney’ environment around the diseased teeth.
In doing this we are undertaking a process now termed ‘periodontal regeneration’. Periodontal regeneration has been shown to a limited degree. We are now proposing to rebuild the bone structure around the teeth and then consequently place the gum tissue at it’s natural position in the mouth therefore re-establishing a periodontal situation that is disease free and appears natural.
By doing this we take bone graft and membrane for guided tissue regeneration and we supplement this with Platelete Rich Plasma derived from the patient in conjunction with the patient’s own mesenchymal stem cells. PRP technology is a highly effective technique used in bone and soft tissue regeneration that yields quicker results and also reduces the discomfort due to improved and faster healing.
This process of using PRP and Stem Cells allows for:
Better healing
Accelerated healing
Using bone graft material from patient or from tissue bank
In this way the patient’s entire periodontal well being is rebuilt as we slowly supply the patient with a disease free periodontium.
Advantages of this technique after the procedure is that:
The process involves minimum post-op discomfort to the patient
There is increased bone around the teeth
There is more stability around the teeth
A more natural environment is created that the patient can clean and maintain.
If you are worried about periodontal disease or have been told by your dentist that you need to be referred to a periodontist and you would like to have a consultation with Dr. Victor Terranova, then please call us on 718-499-2375.
Our website is www.dentistparkslope.com and http://www.austindentalplusny.com our you can read about periodontal reconstruction here at http://www.dentistparkslope.com/periodontist-park-slope-brooklyn.php and http://www.dentistparkslope.com/periodontist-brooklyn.php where you can learn about what we perform at Jim Sarji's office, Advanced Gentle Dentistry of Park Slope where I am the periodontist. Our practice is located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The practice focuses on all forms of general and cosmetic dentistry. We also offer dental implants, dental crowns, porcelain veneers The practice is located in the heart of Brooklyn and has a number of hygienists offering dental cleanings from Monday to Saturday.
