If you are diagnosed with periodontal disease, your periodontist may recommend a range of treatments. Commonly non-surgical treatment involving thorough debridement (cleaning) of the tooth root surfaces will be undertaken often over a number of appointments. Non-surgical treatment is successful for most cases of periodontitis.
In some cases periodontal surgery may be required to gain adequate access to the root surfaces. Periodontal surgery is necessary when your periodontist determines that the tissue around your teeth is unhealthy and cannot be repaired with non-surgical treatment.
A range of surgical treatments may be available to achieve a number of aims. Surgery may be undertaken to:
Gain access to the root surfaces
Reduce the depth of periodontal pockets
Regenerate lost periodontal tissues
Increase the amount of tooth above the gum for restorative procedures (crown lengthening)
Graft tissue into areas where disease has resulted in loss of gum tissue (recession coverage procedures)
In addition, dental implants may be an option when teeth have been lost.
Below are some links to the main societies and academies for periodontics with information for patients:
https://www.anzap.org.au/patient-information/patient-information
https://www.perio.org/consumer/types-gum-disease.html#OverlayWrapper[flash]/0/