Above: Receding gums. Below: After the Pinhole Surgical Technique

John Chao, D.D.S. says the Pinhole Surgical Technique™ can reposition unsightly receding gums in minutes with no downtime.

Online PR News – 07-May-2013 – Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles, CA - “Receding gums can be a real problem - they look terrible, they cause sensitivity to cold and can lead to tooth loss,” says Dr. John Chao, a dentist who practices in Alhambra, CA. “Until now, the standard treatment has been gum grafting surgery, a painful procedure in which a section of gum tissue is cut out of the palate and sewn on to the affected area,” says Dr. Chao. “Even with the bleeding, pain and recovery time, dentists can only treat one or two teeth at a time because of the trauma.”

“But what if the dentist could simply slide receding gums back down into place in minutes with no cutting, no stitches or lasers and no downtime?” asks Dr. Chao. “The Pinhole Surgical Technique™ is a new, patented treatment that offers these advantages over conventional gum grafting surgery.” The treatment is also known as “Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation™.”

Half the population has some degree of gum recession, but many people are unaware of their condition until they experience sensitivity to cold or notice the roots of their teeth beginning to show,” says Dr. Chao. “Additionally, many patients have been reluctant to have treatment because they are afraid of undergoing painful gum grafting surgery. Because of this, I have invented the Pinhole Surgical Technique™, a minimally invasive procedure to rejuvenate unsightly receding gums without the discomfort and downtime caused by conventional invasive gum grafting surgery,” says Dr. Chao.

“Receding gums aren’t the first or even the last thing most people think about,” says Dr. Chao. “However, everyone should be aware of gum recession, which is often caused by excessive tooth brushing, the normal aging process or by other health problems. Many people ultimately seek a dentists’ help because they are unhappy with the appearance of their receding gums. The term ‘long in the tooth’ originated as a description of how a person’s gums appear as they recede, which is associated with aging,” says Dr. Chao. “But you don’t have to be old have receding gums,” he says. “We see gum recession in patients ranging from ages 18 to 80.”

“Until the invention of the Pinhole Surgical Technique™ with specialized instruments, conventional gum grafting surgery was the standard procedure to correct receding gums,” says Dr. Chao. “However, gum grafting is a much more invasive procedure. Because of the cutting and stitches required, most dentists can only address one tooth or possibly two at a time, then wait for the patient to heal before treating more teeth. The patient must endure considerable post-op pain, discomfort and downtime for healing. With the Pinhole Surgical Technique, multiple teeth can be treated through just one tiny entry point which with no cutting, sutures or downtime.”

How Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation is done:
The teeth to be treated are cleaned and prepared, and the area is made numb with a local anesthetic, says Dr. Chao. Then a needle is used to make a tiny entry point in the gum above the tooth or teeth to be treated.

“A specially-designed small instrument is inserted into the entry point and is manipulated to free the gum tissues from the bone, then the gums are moved down to a normal, healthy position,” says Dr. Chao. “Then a small angled forceps, or ‘pliers’ is used to place several tiny collagen strips under the gums which help to keep the tissue in place as new collagen is formed by the body. This completes the procedure, which takes about a half an hour depending on the number of teeth treated. The small entry hole quickly heals and is virtually undetectable the next day."

A 33-month study of 43 patients with 121 gum recessions using the Pinhole Surgical Technique™ was published in the October, 2012, issue of the International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry. The results of this study were as successful as the standard procedure, while patients who underwent the Pinhole Surgical Technique reported virtually no pain, no bleeding and high satisfaction with the almost instant transformation of the defective gum line. (Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent 2012; 32: 521-531.)

Dr. Chao says his ultimate goal is to make Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation available to everybody. “We’re gearing up to train dentists in the new technique,” he says. For more information on the Pinhole Surgical Technique™ for receding gums, call (888) 309-7501 or 626-308-9104. Visit http://www.AlhambraDental.com.

About John Chao, D.D.S.
Dr. John Chao is a graduate of the USC School of Dentistry. He is well known as an authority on dentistry throughout Southern California. Dr. Chao is a lecturer and clinical instructor at the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC in the Community Dentistry Division, teaching on the subjects of pain and anxiety management, ethics and professionalism. For his work at USC, he has been named "Outstanding Part-time Faculty for 2012."
#####