Pros and Cons of Cosmetic Gum Surgery
Advantages
Healing is usually quick and your more youthful and beautiful smile is obvious early on. It has been reported that cosmetic gum surgery additionally improves the health of your gums. The procedure to correct receding gums may even reduce your tooth sensitivity to cold or hot foods or beverages while protecting your roots from decay and lessening further gum shrinkage.
Disadvantages
Cosmetic gum surgery is of course, surgery. Surgery is often performed in segments under a local anesthetic – unless your entire mouth is undergoing this procedure at once, then a general anesthesia is typically used.
Gingival Recession
When the gums recede, the teeth appear much "longer" than normal. Besides the fact that this does not look good, recession exposes the sensitive root surface which can make it difficult to enjoy hot or cold foods and drinks. Also, the exposed root surface is much more susceptible to plaque accumulation and root caries. In advanced cases, teeth can become loose because as the gum recedes, so does the supporting bone.
In many cases, this situation can be corrected by transplanting a small piece of gum tissue to cover the exposed root and thereby correct the appearance of "long" teeth.
Papilla Regeneration
Probably the single most challenging problem in Periodontal Plastic Surgery is the reconstruction of the delicate tissue between the teeth, called the inter dental papilla. No one ever thinks about this small section of the gums until it is lost, resulting in the presence of black holes or black triangles between the teeth.
Important advances have been made in the reconstruction of lost papillae but it is still the toughest task your dental team can face, often requiring the expertise of a dentist, periodontist, and/or orthodontist, among others.
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