A renewed interest in conservative surgical techniques has been fueled by new technology, changes in referral patterns to periodontists and a desire to achieve periodontal health in the least invasive, most cost‐efficient manner possible. Trends suggest that an increasing amount of periodontal care is being provided in the offices of general dentists. If true, it is likely that patients receiving care in these offices will be offered simpler surgical treatment modalities that do not require an extensive armamentarium. The purpose of this article was to review the effectiveness of six relatively simple surgical techniques – gingivectomy, flap debridement, modified Widman flap, excisional new attachment procedure, modified excisional new attachment procedure and laser‐assisted new attachment procedure – and to compare the results obtained using these procedures with the well‐known clinical benefits of scaling and root planing. The intent was to determine whether the benefits of surgical procedures in the hands of most general dentists extend beyond those of conventional nonsurgical therapy.