Next Level Gum Disease Treatment for True Periodontal Regeneration

Many people seem to not really realize that they’ve got gum disease until their dentist or hygienist tells them that they need a deep cleaning – scaling and root planing, which removes plaque and tartar from under the gumline. The idea is to give your periodontal tissues a chance to heal.

But there’s a difference between healing and regeneration.

Traditional perio therapy focuses on creating conditions in which your body can fix the damage that gum disease does, such as forming new attachments between the teeth and the soft tissues around them. What often happens, though, is that your body creates something called a long junctional epithelium. This is essentially scar tissue that reattaches the tooth. It’s functional, for sure, but it’s not the same as the original tissue you lost.

Regeneration involves rebuilding what was actually there: new cementum (the surface layer of the tooth root), new periodontal ligament fibers (the tissue that anchors teeth to bone), and new alveolar bone. That’s a much more ambitious goal.

But it’s a goal that can be reached with the help of a biomimetic material called Emdogain. Naturally sourced, it’s a bioactive gel that contains the same proteins that guide tooth development. During tooth formation, specific proteins signal cells to build those periodontal tissues in a coordinated way. Emdogain works by making use of those same signals.

A review published earlier this year in Frontiers in Dental Medicine described how the enamel matrix proteins involved do more than just create favorable conditions for healing.

Extensive research has demonstrated that enamel matrix derivative (EMD) facilitates periodontal tissue regeneration, enabling the genuine regeneration of cementum, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone.

What’s more, studies have confirmed that these new tissues are “functionally oriented…, exhibiting morphological and biological characteristics akin to natural periodontal tissues.” In other words, what grows back isn’t just scar tissue. It’s actual regenerated periodontal structure.

This is biomimetic dentistry at its best, using the body’s own developmental blueprint to guide tissue regeneration.

One recent lab study pitted Emdogain against another regenerative protein found in the periodontal ligament itself: Periostin. You might expect that a protein from mature tissues might do better than one from developing teeth, but the results showed otherwise. Emdogain showed better cell viability and faster wound closure, with periodontal ligament cells healing completely within 48 hours. Cells treated with Emdogain also moved more quickly to the treatment site and multiplied more vigorously. Both of those are critical factors in successful tissue regeneration.

As amazing as it is, Emdogain isn’t something that can be effectively used in every periodontal situation. Research shows that it works particularly well for deep pockets with intrabony defects, gingival recession, and managing inflammation around dental implants – a/k/a peri-implantitis. Here in our office, it’s a key part of our comprehensive Perio3 protocol.

The difference between repair and regeneration isn’t just academic. Real regeneration – with properly oriented ligament fibers and restored bone support – provide a more stable foundation for your teeth. There’s structural integrity that you just don’t get with repair.

This is especially important for patients who are looking at the possibility of tooth loss and the need for ceramic implants or other tooth replacement down the line. When we can actually regenerate the supporting structures rather than just manage disease, we’re giving you the best possible foundation for keeping your natural teeth for life.