Our Services
At Hutt Dental Specialists, we practice all aspects of periodontics, including non-surgical and surgical periodontal treatment, supportive periodontal therapy, dental Implant surgery, bone grafting, management of peri-implantitis, gingival grafting, crown lengthening, frenectomy, pericision, tooth exposure and soft tissue biopsies.
Together with our Orthodontic and Oral and Maxillofacial specialists, our team are dedicated to providing the highest level of care to gain positive results.
Periodontal Disease
Assessment and Treatment Planning
The treatment of periodontal disease is our main focus. This starts with assessing the severity and distribution of the problem, and identifying any factors which may affect your susceptibility to periodontal disease. A history, together with clinical records and measurements give us a snapshot or reference point of the current periodontal condition, and provides us with a subjective measure of disease activity and stability. This information enables us to form a treatment plan specific to your needs, as well as a means of monitoring treatment outcomes.
Periodontal Treatment
Periodontal diseases affect the gums and the bone surrounding your teeth, sometimes eroding the tooth support structure over time. Treatment is aimed at removing the cause of periodontal disease (plaque) and is broadly divided into non-surgical and surgical treatments. With specialist care it is possible to control progression of the periodontal disease and minimise the loss of your teeth.
Periodontal Maintenance
We cannot change the type of bacteria in your mouth, or your natural susceptibility to periodontal disease. Therefore, after the periodontal disease is bought under control, it is important to monitor the stability of the healing, and the effectiveness of steps taken to prevent recurrence of the problem. This is achieved by regular visits with a Dental Hygienist or Oral Health Therapist, with the frequency of visits determined by the stability of the periodontal tissues. Our aim is for you to maintain healthy gums for life.
Dental Implants
Planning and Placement
Dental implants are a replacement for lost tooth roots, and are used to restore the normal tooth functions of eating, appearance and speech. They may be used to restore individual teeth, multiple teeth or to support a full set of teeth. The end goal is a permanent solution that looks and feels natural. However, this requires careful team planning with your dentist, a dental laboratory and of course with you.
Dental records and measurements will be taken to assess your dental needs, the bone available for the dental implants, and any factors which may affect the success of implant treatment. Additional grafting may be required to provide suitable bone or gum tissue to support the implants. Almost all of our dental implant and grafting surgeries are carried out under local anaesthetic alone and should be painless. However, intravenous sedation may be arranged if required.
Peri-implantitis Treatment
Just as tissues around teeth may become infected, so can tissues around dental implants. This is known peri-implant mucositis, or peri-implantitis, and follows much the same pattern as periodontal disease. Treatment is aimed at removing plaque from around the implant surface, either surgically or non-surgically. Unfortunately this is more difficult around implants compared to teeth, and the results are less predictable. The best treatment is prevention, and is discussed in the implant planning phase.
Soft Tissue Concerns
Gingival Surgery
Adjustment of the gums may be required to maintain health, improve aesthetics, or replace tissues lost by disease, trauma or some dental procedures. It may involve;
- Connective Tissue Grafting – grafting new gum tissue
- Gingivectomy – removing excess gum tissue
- Gingival recontouring – reshaping the gums
- Repositioning the gum margins
- Frenectomy – relocating gum attachments
- Pericision – releasing gum tissue following orthodontic tooth movement
- Tooth exposure – removal or relocating gum tissue to expose unerupted teeth.
These procedures are carried out under local anaesthetic, and require a high level of home care and compliance with post-surgical review. Whatever your concern we are happy to discuss options for you and advise on a solution to suit your needs.
Pathology and Biopsy
Soft tissue lesions may be subtle or obvious and any unusual appearances of gum tissue should be investigated or monitored to understand their significance. If they are of concern to you or your dentist, a biopsy sample may be taken and identified histologically to help form diagnosis. Once identified, a management plan may be put in place.
FAQs
Below you will find our most frequently asked questions. If you cannot find the information you need, please contact us so our team can help answer any questions you have.
Usually. A letter from either your general dental practitioner or your dental hygienist is required before you are consulted with, however some patients have seen a periodontist in the past and so they refer themselves.
Please bring along any X-rays, letter or other documents given to you by your General Dentist or Hygienist and information about any regular medication you take. Often we already have a letter and x-rays for you as they are commonly sent to us via email. In this case just bring a list of any medications you regularly take.
If you have recently had periodontal treatment or surgery with us you should call 04 9392499 or the cell phone number we gave you at the surgical appointment and we will be able to discuss what is best to do.
If you have acute dental pain not caused by surgical treatment, you should seek an appointment with your general dental practitioner, as it is most likely that they can address this problem with your teeth.
Periodontal disease rarely causes acute pain.
If you have recently injured yourself; broken or knocked out teeth, you should contact your General Dental Practitioner in the first instance. There can be many issues to address after trauma and your General Dental Practitioner will be best suited to care for your injuries.
Yes. In most cases ACC will cover the majority of your appointment cost, however there is a charge that you will need to pay yourself. Once your case has been approved by ACC we can give you a detailed quote for your case, and in some cases the cost for your following appointments will be covered in full by ACC.
In this situation it is best to talk to your surgeon. You can self-fund your treatment/surgery, you are responsible for paying 100% of the costs towards this. We can provide you with a full quote so that you know how much your treatment would be in advance.
Morris Wong is based in the clinic 4 days per week, however he is usually with patients during this time so responses to your queries may take a little time, he will do his best to make a prompt response but this is not always possible. If it is an urgent matter, the receptionist will do their best to contact the surgeon or may be able to provide you with alternative options if required.
Morris Wong is now based in his Lower Hutt office for 4 days a week. He no-longer works in Palmerston North or Wellington City.