452: The Power in Learning About Gingival Architecture - Dr. Betsy Bakeman - a podcast by ACT Dental

The Power in Learning About Gingival Architecture

Episode #452 with Dr. Betsy Bakeman

Do your patients care about gingival architecture? Chances are, yes! They just don't know what it is, or that it can be corrected. And sometimes, neither do dentists. So, to help you optimize the results of your dentistry, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Betsy Bakeman, adjunct faculty member at the Kois Center, to share what she’s learned about gingival architecture, why you should learn more, and how to get started. To help patients achieve their ideal smiles, listen to Episode 452 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

You can alter gingival architecture for esthetic reasons.

Learn gingival architecture to optimize outcomes.

This knowledge will give you added expertise.

Learning this will improve communication.

Gingival architecture is simple to learn.

Quotes:

“You hear about the gingival architecture being the framework for the teeth, and it’s something that I never used to consider at all, until I started going through the accreditation process in the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. And they started talking about how this was really important for esthetics, and I knew what I wanted to do. I learned where the architecture should be, the symmetry, the harmony. But I didn't know how to manage it, and I struggled getting my patients to go to the periodontist, to go to a specialist. I struggled with communication with my patients, with the specialist, and I didn't know how to achieve optimal results.” (3:02—3:51)

“[Gingival architecture is] really simple. It’s very manageable. Any general dentist can learn these techniques, and it helps you in so many ways.” (4:14—4:24)

“[What most dentists get wrong is] how simple and predictable [gingival architecture] is. It’s just so simple and predictable. Once you know what to do, it’s amazing how simple and predictable it is.” (5:24—5:40)

“Even if you decide, ‘I don't like blood. I don't like working with a scalpel. I don't want to do that,’ you become better at communicating what you want with your periodontist. So, it’s helpful to know what the ceramicist is doing, to know what the specialist is doing. We become better communicators and we’re more likely to get what we need when we work with our specialists.” (6:17—6:42)

“You can't unsee it. Once you see asymmetry in the gingival architecture and the patient is asking you about this chipped tooth, this dark tooth, whatever it is that they're focused on, and then you say, ‘Can I point out some other things that I see that may or may not be important to you? If you're going to restore these teeth, you may notice afterwards that these gum heights aren't even on these two middle teeth. And there are opportunities to correct that before we do your two restorations so that it looks perfectly symmetrical.’ And patients often say, ‘Oh, I didn't notice that.’ Or they might say, ‘I didn't know you could correct that.’” (7:15—8:03)

“Especially in people that have short teeth and gummy smiles where there's actually more tooth structure under the gum tissue, people are amazed. I mean, they didn't even know that that could be corrected. And so, they're so excited. It’s added expertise in the eyes of the patient that you're the first person that mentioned that this could actually be corrected for them. They didn't even know it. And honestly, a lot of dentists don't know it either.” (8:04—8:34)

“In dental school, we’re taught a lot about single-tooth dentistry, and we really focus on teeth. I mean, dental school — dental anatomy, teeth, teeth, teeth, teeth, teeth. And I didn't know that you could alter gingival architecture for esthetic reasons until I was like 15 years out of dental school.” (8:43—9:06)

“The AACD says if you're going to say you're a cosmetic dentist, you...

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