Your gum health is an important component of your overall dental health. Your gums can experience health issues just as your teeth can. For example, bacteria can infect your gums, causing periodontal disease. Your gums can also pull away from your teeth in a process called gum recession.

Our Gum Treatment Options

At The Family Dentist, we are here to resolve any kind of gum problems. We can treat the most severe forms of gum disease through periodontal surgery in Lakeland, FL. Our groundbreaking, state-of-the-art surgical techniques protect your gums with minimal discomfort to you.

Even if your gum problems don’t seem serious, we recommend periodontal care in Lakeland, FL. Our care protects and heals your gums and prevents minor problems from turning into major ones.

If your gums bleed or feel sensitive, or if you can see your tooth roots when you smile, set an appointment with The Family Dentist. We look forward to resolving your gum problems through periodontics in Lakeland, FL.

LANAP also know as Periodontal Laser Therapy

The LANAP™ Procedure is about as easy as erasing a blackboard — there’s no cutting and no suturing. There’s much less discomfort with the LANAP™ Protocol than with standard surgery — during and after the procedure. It takes less time than traditional surgery. All it takes is two 2-hour visits to the dentist. Traditional surgery requires four sessions of about one hour each, with subsequent visits for suture removal and additional check-ups.

LANAP™ gives better, longer-lasting results. In fact, 98% of LANAP™ treated patients remain stable after five years. Dr. Lung will probably recommend a soft diet for a day or two, and common sense should prevail, but in most cases, patients feel good enough to eat anything they want right after the procedure. Following traditional surgery, recovery can take between to 2–4 weeks during which patients can experience considerable pain and swelling, where they may be restricted to liquid or soft diets. There’s less than 24 hour recovery period, so you won’t lose time from work.

The LANAP™ Procedure is safe for patients with health concerns such as diabetes, HIV, hemophilia, or those taking medications such as Plavix or aspirin.

Visit for more information: www​.lanap​.com

Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation

Do your teeth appear “long”, the roots showing when you are smiling, or are your teeth sensitive? If so, you may have the oral health issue of gum recession, which in some form affects nearly half of the U. S. population.

With gum recession, the gums begin to wear away, pulling back away from the teeth. This causes more of the tooth to be exposed, and while esthetically unpleasing, it can lead to other issues with your oral health. If the gums recede heavily, the roots of the teeth become exposed to damaging, disease-causing bacteria. As the gum tissue pulls away from the teeth, a gap is formed. This area can permit bacteria buildup more easily, and can cause severe damage to the teeth, the supporting bone and adjacent tissue, if left untreated. And while this buildup is occurring, the teeth will appear “longer”, and can become more sensitive to temperature, or even to brushing.

For many, gum recession will be brought about by gum disease, or from over-brushing the teeth and gums. And since these factors are cumulative, aging will play a significant role. However, gum recession can even affect children in certain circumstances. In fact, children with braces can suffer from recession if the aggravating factors remain untreated.

Some of these factors which can increase the chances of developing receding gums, in both adults and children, include abnormal tooth position, genetics, periodontal (gum) disease, overly aggressive tooth brushing, and trauma to the gums.

The traditional surgical method of addressing gum recession is known as “gum grafting”. In this procedure, a piece of soft tissue from the roof of the mouth is cut, removed, and then surgically grafted and sutured onto the receding gum area. The graft covers the once exposed root of the tooth, to prevent future recession, help reduce sensitivity, and improve the overall appearance of the gums. This conventional surgical method of gum grafting can be very painful, requiring multiple surgical procedures and an extended recovery time.

A new treatment method offers a very different approach, and provides nearly pain-free results for patients. This breakthrough method for treating gum recession was invented and patented by John Chao, D.D.S., and is called the Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation (also known as Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique or PST). In this procedure, there is no incision, no sutures, and patients can see immediate results.

Unlike the traditional method, PST is performed with a needle, creating a small hole (the pinhole) above the diseased area itself. Then, using specialized instruments, the gums are loosened from the underlying connective tissue, and moved into the proper position. Finally, collagen strips are placed through the pinhole under the gums to reinforce the new, and desired, position of the gums.

Traditional gum graft surgery requires several incisions and generally can only correct one to two teeth per surgical visit, at times taking up to two hours to complete. The Pinhole procedure, on the other hand, requires no incisions, no sutures, and can correct 10 to 14 teeth during a single treatment session. For example, the gums around 3 teeth can be treated with PST in approximately 20 minutes, with the patient seeing a visible difference. Also, the pinhole is healed and disappears by the next day, while the traditional gum grafting can take up to three weeks to heal. The Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation therapy provides an avenue for the patient to have predictable, effective, minimally invasive treatment, while requiring no incisions, no sutures and presenting a faster healing time.

And while the therapy is a significant departure from traditional treatments, the cost of the Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation method is comparable to the traditional methods.

Dr. Mariela Lung is the first general dentist in the state of Florida to be trained in the Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation method. For more information call our office at (863) 647‑3222.