“Painless Receding Gum Cure!”
J
John Chao, DDS
John Chao, DDS, Dentist at Alhambra Dental, California, talks about a new procedure that could
ease the pain for patients with receding gums without invasive surgery.
What is the Pinhole Surgical Technique?
Dr. Chao: The Pinhole Surgical Technique is a way to repair gum shrinkage through a pinhole
in the gum without having to cut.
Do you see this all the time?
Dr. Chao: We see a lot of patients that need gum rejuvenation, but don’t realize it.
Before this procedure, would people rather live with the problem instead of getting it
fixed?
Dr. Chao: That happens to a lot of people because they are put in a dilemma of whether they
should fix it with a very painful, drawn out gum grafting procedure, just try to ignore it, or try a
temporary fix by placing a filling on the exposed root.
How long does the standard gum grafting procedure take?
Dr. Chao: Well, the standard procedure requires cutting out a graft of the gum from the palate
and grafting it to where it’s needed. This creates two surgical wounds that patients have to deal
with. To delicately cut and remove the graft tissue and attach it with sutures takes about an hour
to an hour and a half for just one or two teeth. This requires the patient to recuperate for about
two or three weeks.
What’s the key to your procedure?
Dr. Chao: The key to The Pinhole Surgical Technique is that we don’t have to perform graft. We
go through a pinhole which is made by a needle, so there’s no scalpel or cutting at all. Then we
can literally shift the tissue down with very little trauma to the tissue. Also, there are no open
wounds. It’s so minimally invasive; nothing could be more noninvasive in dentistry than this. I
know that if you’re not used to seeing things like this it seems like it’s quite traumatic, but really
it’s very, very minimal. There’s so much blood supply and so much collagen in the area that
when you see the patient the next day, you can hardly tell if anything was done. The tiny pinhole
that’s been made shrinks away by the next day.
So, you’re just moving the collagen around, correct?
Dr. Chao: I’m just moving the gum tissue which has abundant collagen in it. The collagen strips
that I put in are used it to stabilize the gum flap. The collagen causes the body to regenerate
more collagen tissue, so it serves a dual purpose.
How long will this last?
Dr. Chao: This is expected to be permanent, and last as long as any other procedure. Nothing
is forever of course, because there the normal aging process goes on. However, if everything is
healthy and there is no over-brushing, I’ve seen this last years and years.
Does this procedure cure gum disease?
Dr. Chao: It’s not meant to cure gum disease. The Pinhole Surgical Technique is meant to
restore the gum line to normal. Any treatment for gum disease treatment must be done before
having this procedure. So, we want to do it in a mouth that is not infected with any kind of
inflammatory process, such as periodontal disease.
How long have you been doing this?
Dr. Chao: I have been performing this procedure since 2006.
Are there any risks to this technique?
Dr. Chao: The risks are very minimal, especially compared to other procedures.
So are you teaching other dentists around the country?
Dr. Chao: At this moment I’m not, but I’m preparing to teach the dentists as much as I can. The
ultimate goal of this method is to make it available to everybody. So, we’re gearing up to train
doctors.
Joyce said it was expensive, but worth every penny. How expensive is it right now?
Dr. Chao: It’s about the same cost as the standard gum grafting procedures, but without the
cutting, pain and downtime. However, the overall cost can be much less because we can do so
many teeth at the same time. We can reduce the cost by quite a bit when we do more than one.
We can do up to 15 teeth at one time and it doesn’t take that much more time.
How did you even think of coming up with this technique?
Dr. Chao: Well, it was just a necessity. I just didn’t see why dentistry had to have a procedure
that hurt so much. So, I investigated it and it dawned on me that there is another way altogether
to treat receding gums.
This was published in a very prestigious journal, right?
Dr. Chao: Yes. It was published by the International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative
Dentistry, one of the most respected journals in dentistry.
After that did you get a lot of calls?
Dr. Chao: I got a lot of calls from all over the world because it was published in an international
journal. So, we’ve had a lot of interest and because of the interest I expect that this will be
available to the rest of the country in a very short time.
This information is intended for additional research purposes only. It is not to be used as a
prescription or advice from Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc. or any medical professional
interviewed. Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc. assumes no responsibility for the depth or accuracy
of physician statements. Procedures or medicines apply to different people and medical factors;
always consult your physician on medical matters.
If you would like more information, please contact:
John Chao, DDS
Dentist
Alhambra Dental
(626)308-9104
johnchaodds@sbcglobal.net
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