Gingival Augmentation With Alloderm
The gingival augmentation procedure is designed to increase the band of “attached” gingival tissue surrounding the tooth. Commonly, this procedure is completed with tissue taken from the roof of the mouth. This part of the surgery can be very painful with severe limitations of the amount of tissue available for the surgery. This procedure is commonly used when there is increasing recession around teeth and root coverage is not practical. AlloDerm (acellular dermal matrix, Life Cell inc.) is a “sterile” human skin which can be used for gingival grafting procedures. With AlloDerm, there is an unlimited amount of tissue available for the grafting. Also, the use of AlloDerm severely reduces the amount of discomfort or complications from this procedure
Examples of indications for this procedure include treatment of extensive recession, pre-orthodontic grafting to prevent recession from developing during the movement of teeth, and gingival grafting when root coverage is impractical due to the nature of the existing tissue (for example, the lower front teeth).
Following are photos of Dr. Imberman’s cases treated with AlloDerm to increase the band of attached gingival tissue without root coverage.
