Periodontal Regeneration and Growth Factors

Your doctor has recommended bio material/a growth factor as part of your treatment. Growth factor is designed to enhance your body’s natural ability to heal or restore your gums and the underlying bone that has been lost as a result of periodontal disease. Healthy, intact gums and bone support are extremely important for the long term maintenance of your teeth.

What is a Periodontal Defect?

When you smile, a periodontal defect might look like the picture below. Notice the gum line on the center tooth has receded from the original healthy starting position (a gingival recession defect). Underneath the gums, it is likely that bone and other structures have also been lost. These structures are necessary to anchor the tooth firmly in place.

a. Tooth with a gingival recession prior to treatment with growth factor.

b. Healthy Anatomy

Figures 3a and 3b illustrate severe bone loss around teeth where periodontal disease has gone untreated.

How Does a Growth Factor Promote Healing?

Since a biomaterial will be implanted under you gums, you won’t be able to see the powerful effects of the treatment as it occurs. The illustrations that follow describe ho a biomaterial speeds up your body’s natural healing process.

Your doctor will prepare the area to be treated by cleaning it out thoroughly and then filling the space around the tooth, where bone and other supporting structures have been lost. Immediately it begins signaling your body to actively begin to heal and regenerate healthy bone and tissue.

The biomaterial acts like a magnet, attracting the specific cells that your body needs to regenerate bone and the surrounding tissues, causing them to multiply in number. This increase in cellular activity results in a more rapid healing process.

The biomaterial and bone graft mix is gradually replaced with you bone and other normal anatomic structures.

Several months after treatment with healing completed.