Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique Washington DC

Minimally Invasive Treatment for Gum Recession

If you are looking for more than a deep cleaning for your gum recession treatment, Pinhole Surgical Technique is an effective gum restoration procedure that offers an alternative to traditional gum grafting.

The Process

Dr. Ardekani, our certified Pinhole clinician, begins by making a small hole in your gums where he will add collagen material to stabilize the area of gum recession in your mouth. This innovative method is simple, suture-free, minimally invasive, and significantly less painful than a technique that cuts gum tissue.

Pinhole Surgical Technique versus Soft Tissue Grafting

Traditional grafting involves rebuilding the gum line by suturing donor tissue in place, allowing it to join with the existing tissue and heal over time. Although soft tissue grafting is effective, Pinhole provides a better patient experience while delivering identical results.

What are the benefits of Pinhole Surgical Technique?

  • No incisions
  • Suture-free
  • Quick
  • Convenient
  • Effective
  • Minimal pain, swelling, bleeding
  • Short recovery time
  • Instant cosmetic results

Get answers to common questions about the Pinhole Surgical Technique! Learn more by reviewing the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique Brochure

Before and After Gallery


Front teeth of a patient
Front teeth of a patient

Front teeth of a patient
Front teeth of a patient

Front teeth of a patient
Front teeth of a patient

Front teeth of a patient
Front teeth of a patient

Front teeth of a patient
Front teeth of a patient

Pinhole Surgical Technique FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Chao Pinhole logo

Have additional questions about the Pinhole Surgical Technique?

What is the Chao Pinhole® Surgical Technique?

The Pinhole® Surgical Technique is a way to repair gum shrinkage (recession) through a pinhole in the gum without having to cut your gum tissue.

Do you see this all the time?

We see a lot of patients that have moderate to severe gum recession and need gum rejuvenation, but don’t realize it.

Before this procedure, would people rather live with the problem instead of getting it fixed?

That happens to a lot of people because they are put in a dilemma of whether they should fix it with a very painful, drawn out gum grafting procedure, just try to ignore it, or try a temporary fix by placing a filling on the exposed root.

How long does the standard gum grafting procedure take?

The standard procedure requires cutting out a graft of the gum from the palate and grafting it to where it’s needed. This creates two surgical wounds that patients have to deal with. To delicately cut and remove the graft tissue and attach it with sutures takes about an hour to

an hour and a half for just one or two teeth. This requires the patient to recuperate for about two or three weeks.

What’s so different about this procedure?

The key to The Pinhole® Surgical Technique is that we don’t have to perform gum grafting. We go through a pinhole which is made by a needle, so there’s no scalpel or cutting at all. Then we can literally shift the tissue down with very little trauma to the tissue. Also, there are no open wounds. It’s so minimally invasive; nothing could be more noninvasive in dentistry than this. If you’re not used to seeing things like this it seems like it’s quite traumatic, but really, it’s very, very minimal. There’s so much blood supply and so much collagen in the area that when you see the patient the next day, you can hardly tell if anything was done. The tiny pinhole that’s been made shrinks away by the next day.

So, you’re just moving the collagen around, correct?

In this procedure the doctor would be just moving the gum tissue which has abundant collagen in it. The collagen strips that doctor put in are used it to stabilize the gum flap. The collagen causes the body to regenerate more collagen tissue, so it serves a dual purpose.

How long will this last?

This is expected to be permanent, and last as long as any other procedure. Nothing is forever of course, because there the normal aging process goes on. However, if everything is healthy and there is no over-brushing, this should last years and years.

Does this procedure cure gum disease?

It’s not meant to cure gum disease. The Pinhole® Surgical Technique is meant to restore the gum line to normal. Any treatment for gum disease treatment must be done before having this procedure. So, we want to do it in a mouth that is not infected with any kind of inflammatory process, such as periodontal disease.

Are there any risks to this technique?

The risks are very minimal, especially compared to other procedures.

How expensive is it?

It’s about the same cost as the standard gum grafting procedures, but without the cutting, pain and downtime. Also, there is no limit to the amount of teeth that can be treated with the Pinhole procedure in one treatment session.