We have gathered few terms and procedure definitions for you so we can aid you in your decision making and we can talk to you about various periodontal needs.

• PERIODONTUM (Gums and Related Tissues)
• Adult periodontitis: beyond age 35, onset slow.
• Allograft: taking a graft from individuals of the same species.
• Alloplastic graft: made up of synthetic substances.
• Alveolar process: bone surrounding the teeth.
• Anaesthesia: drug to block off any pain impulses from the nerves.
• Antibiotics: medication to fight off bacteria causing infection.
• Asepsis: steril stimulation of the surroundings and instruments to prevent infections.
• Autograft: taking from your own body a graft.
• Calculus: hardened plaque.
• Composite graft: a combination of autograft and allograft or alloplastic graft.
• Crown lengthening: providing more tooth structure by slightly taking away the bone and gingiva.
• Curettage: detoxifying the root surface from plaque.
• Dehiscence: cleft like absence of bone which denudes the root surface.
• Fenestration: circumscribed defect in the bone exposing part of the root.
• Frenectomy: cutting the frenum.
• Frenum: the stretched out tissue when lifting your tongue or lifting your upper lip.
• Gingival graft: taking a piece of gingiva harvested usually from the palate to a place needing it.
• Gingival sulcus: the space between the tooth and the gingiva.
• Gingival enlargement: unusual growth of the gingiva due to drugs, pregnancy or other causes.
• Gingivectomy: excision of the gingiva.
• Gingivitis: inflammation of the gingiva (bleeding gums).
• Gingivoplasty: esthetically recontouring the gingiva.
• Graft: a piece of tissue taken from one area and placed at another.
• Implant: a substitute for a lost tooth. It functions as additional support, most often providing the very important option of esthetics, non removable rather than removable tooth replacement. Implants are fabricated from body compatible bio-materials, most often titanium or one of its alloys. It can vary in shape from a blade-like shape to a screw type.
• Junctional epithelium: the tissue directly hugging the tooth,