Your gum health, in expert, gentle hands
Dr. Manjiri Mathur, DMD, is a Board-Certified Periodontist who treats gum disease, replaces missing teeth with dental implants, and improves smiles with cosmetic gum procedures, using minimally invasive techniques whenever possible, including LANAP™ laser gum treatment.
Dr. Mathur understands that going to the dentist can be scary. She begins each new visit by listening to what matters most to you, then recommends a plan built around your individual needs. She has helped many fearful patients achieve dental health.
Signs it's time to see a periodontist
- Red, swollen, tender or bleeding gums
- Receding gums
- Loose or separating teeth
- Persistent bad breath
What a periodontist does — and why it matters
Periodontics is one of the dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association. It covers the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the tissues that support and surround your teeth — or their replacements, like dental implants — and maintaining the health, function, and appearance of that supporting structure.
If you're noticing warning signs of gum disease, a periodontist can treat it and stop it from progressing, which protects more than your smile: gum disease has been linked to broader health issues as well. Dr. Mathur favors minimally invasive treatment where appropriate, including LANAP™ laser gum treatment, detailed in the Services section below.
Meet Dr. Manjiri Mathur, DMD
Dr. Mathur is a mom, an educator, and a clinician. She enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and daughter, trying new recipes, and traveling the world.
For nearly 20 years, she has been training the next generation of dentists. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Periodontics at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, and she volunteers her time as an attending periodontist at Morristown Medical Center.
Dr. Mathur is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, a distinction earned by periodontists who go beyond the specialty's required training and are certified by the Board. She received her bachelor's degree from Rutgers University, and her Doctorate in Dental Medicine and Specialty Certificate in Periodontics from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, now Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.
Professional memberships
- Diplomate, American Board of Periodontology
- American Academy of Periodontology
- American Dental Association
- American Academy of Osseointegration
- Northeast Society of Periodontists
- New Jersey Society of Periodontists
- New Jersey Dental Association
Meet the team
Allison
Treatment Coordinator
Janette
Treatment Coordinator
Melissa
Dental Hygienist
Daisylee
Dental Assistant
Our office
A look inside our Hillsborough, NJ office.
How we treat gum disease and replace missing teeth
About Gum Disease
Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection that affects the gums and the bone supporting your teeth. Bacteria in plaque release toxins that irritate the gums, causing inflammation — gums appear red and swollen and bleed easily.
The mildest form, Gingivitis, is limited to the gums and doesn't affect the supporting bone. It usually causes little or no discomfort and is typically the result of inadequate home care, so it's reversible with treatment. Left untreated, it can progress to Periodontitis — an infection of the gums and bone that is not reversible. As it progresses, gums separate from teeth, forming pockets that deepen over time, with symptoms including loose teeth, increasing spaces between teeth, and bad breath. Dr. Mathur has experience treating Periodontitis and will tailor a treatment plan to control the infection and prevent further bone loss.
Research increasingly links chronic oral inflammation to systemic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, and pre-term/low-birth-weight babies — an inflammation-free mouth helps keep the rest of your body healthy too. Smoking, diabetes, genetics, stress, poor nutrition, certain medications, teeth grinding, puberty, pregnancy, and menopause can all affect your risk.
Scaling and Root Planing
Dr. Mathur's philosophy is to achieve periodontal health through the least invasive, most cost-effective methods first — often non-surgical scaling and root planing, a careful cleaning of the tooth surface that removes plaque and tartar from deep gum pockets, smooths the root, and removes bacterial toxins.
Many patients avoid surgery altogether after this treatment, though ongoing periodontal maintenance every three months is needed to sustain results. When non-surgical therapy isn't enough on its own, surgery can restore the form and function of gums damaged by disease, and make brushing and flossing easier. Dr. Mathur will review every option with you at your consultation.
LANAP™ – Laser Gum Treatment
As periodontal disease progresses, pockets form around teeth and deepen, giving bacteria more room to thrive and causing further bone and tissue loss. Left long enough, affected teeth may eventually need to be extracted.
For qualifying patients, Dr. Mathur may recommend LANAP™ (Laser Assisted New Attachment Procedure). A laser fiber about the thickness of three hairs is inserted between the tooth and gum, targeting diseased tissue and bacteria without cutting or suturing the gum. A final laser pass sterilizes the pocket and stimulates a blood clot that reattaches the gum to the tooth.
The procedure is fast — one 3-hour session or two 2-hour sessions — and, being minimally invasive, most patients experience very little discomfort or sensitivity. With routine 3-month maintenance, results are remarkably stable long-term.
Pocket Reduction Procedures
When non-surgical treatment isn't enough to reduce deep pockets, Dr. Mathur may recommend a pocket reduction procedure: gently folding back the gum tissue, removing disease-causing bacteria, smoothing bone damaged by that bacteria, and repositioning the gum tissue.
Reducing pocket depth and eliminating existing bacteria — combined with daily home care and professional maintenance — improves your odds of keeping your natural teeth and lowers the risk of health problems associated with periodontal disease.
Bone Regenerative Procedures
When periodontal disease has destroyed the bone supporting your teeth, regenerative procedures can help rebuild it using bone grafts, membranes, and tissue-stimulating proteins — eliminating bacteria, reducing pocket depth, and reversing some of the damage.
Dr. Mathur folds back the gum tissue, removes disease-causing bacteria, and applies grafts, membranes, or proteins to stimulate your body's own ability to regenerate lost bone and tissue. There are several options to restore bone to a healthy level, and Dr. Mathur will discuss what's best for you.
About Extractions
If a tooth has been damaged by decay or injury and can't be repaired with a filling, crown, or other treatment, it will need to be extracted — removed completely from its socket in the jaw bone.
Bone Grafting After Extraction
Once a tooth is extracted, the remaining "socket" of jaw bone begins to shrink, since its only job was to support that tooth. A socket bone graft placed at the time of extraction fills the void and holds its volume while natural bone regrows in its place — especially important if a dental implant is planned for that spot.
Depending on the size of the extracted tooth, the graft typically needs three to six months to heal before an implant can be placed.
About Dental Implants
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that Dr. Mathur places in your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge. If you're missing one or more teeth due to periodontal disease, injury, or another reason, and you're in good general oral health, you may be a candidate.
Missing teeth can affect your confidence — hiding your smile, feeling unsure about loose dentures, or struggling to chew comfortably. Dental implants are designed to look and feel like your own teeth, and with proper placement and diligent care, can last a lifetime.
Replacing a tooth with an implant is a team effort between your periodontist and your restorative dentist. Because implants are surrounded by gum tissue and bone just like natural teeth, they're just as susceptible to gum disease — which is exactly where a periodontist's training matters most.
Treatment Sequence
Dr. Mathur reviews your medical and dental history and evaluates your jaw bone. If there's enough bone to support an implant, she surgically places a titanium implant — the replacement for the root of your missing tooth — and your jaw is given time to heal and integrate with it. Your restorative dentist may provide temporary teeth during this period.
Once healing is complete, Dr. Mathur exposes the implant, and your restorative dentist attaches an abutment and a natural-looking crown. Ongoing brushing, flossing, and regular visits keep the implant, teeth, and gums healthy long-term.
Esthetic
Implants integrate into your bone structure, so they look and feel like your own teeth.
Tooth-saving
Unlike bridges, implants don't require altering the adjacent healthy teeth.
Confidence building
A stable alternative to dentures — no slipping, no messy adhesives.
Reliable
Implants have a highly predictable, well-studied success rate.
A single missing tooth can be replaced with one implant and a crown; several missing teeth with an implant-supported bridge; and a full arch with an implant-supported bridge or denture.
Are You a Candidate for Dental Implants?
The ideal candidate is in good general and oral health, has adequate jaw bone to support an implant, and has healthy gum tissue free of periodontal disease. If your jaw bone isn't tall or thick enough yet, Dr. Mathur can help you get there with Sinus Augmentation or Bone Width Modification.
Sinus Augmentation
The upper back jaw is one of the trickiest areas for implants, due to limited bone and proximity to the sinus. Sinus Augmentation lifts the gum, raises the sinus floor, and places bone graft material to build up enough bone for implant placement — sometimes at the same time as the implant itself. Healing generally takes four to twelve months before implants can be placed, plus additional healing afterward.
Bone Width Modification
Jaw deformities — from periodontal disease, long-term denture wear, development, or injury — can leave too little bone for an implant, and sometimes an unattractive indentation along the jaw line. Dr. Mathur lifts the gum away from the ridge, fills the defect with bone or a bone substitute, and allows it to develop for roughly four to twelve months (sometimes with the implant placed at the same time). This improves both appearance and implant success.
Gum Recession
Gum recession and exposed tooth roots can result from periodontal disease, aggressive brushing, or tooth position — making teeth look too long and causing sensitivity to hot or cold. Soft Tissue Grafting, using tissue from your palate or another donor source, covers the exposed root on one tooth or several, evening your gum line, reducing sensitivity, and protecting the root from decay.
Bone Grafting (Ridge Augmentation)
Losing one or more teeth can cause the jawbone to recede, creating an indentation that makes a replacement tooth look unnaturally long. A Ridge Augmentation procedure fills in that indentation and recreates the natural contour of your gums and jaw, so a replacement tooth looks natural and stays easy to clean.
Crown Lengthening
Crown lengthening can serve a restorative purpose — exposing more of a tooth that's broken at the gum line or too short for a crown or bridge — or a cosmetic one, correcting a "gummy" smile where teeth are actually normal length but covered by extra gum tissue. The procedure removes excess gum and bone tissue to reveal more of the natural tooth, on one tooth or several.
Wilckodontics™ – Periodontally Accelerated Orthodontics
For patients who want orthodontic results without years in braces, Accelerated Osteogenic Orthodontics™ (AOO), also known as Wilckodontics™, stimulates the bone around teeth so braces can move them much more rapidly. As a certified AOO™ periodontist, Dr. Mathur performs the bone stimulation procedure, then works alongside your orthodontist to complete the accelerated tooth movement.
Teeth typically move about four times faster than with conventional orthodontics — treatment that once took a year and a half to three years can often be completed in just three to eight months, for most patients regardless of age.
Testimonials
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Contact us
Hillsborough Periodontics & Dental Implants
Dr. Manjiri Mathur, DMD
207 Omni Drive, Hillsborough, New Jersey 08844
Phone: 908-292-8050
Email: info@HillsboroughPeriodontics.com
| Monday | 9 AM – 5 PM |
| Tuesday | 9 AM – 5 PM |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 9 AM – 5 PM |
| Friday (two per month) | 9 AM – 5 PM |