What to Expect Before, During, and After Your Gum Grafting Surgery
Oct 10, 2024
You have gum recession, and your dentist recommends gum grafting. Without it, your gums will pull further away from your tooth or teeth, and you’re at risk of losing at least one tooth.
Our board-certified oral surgeon, Dr. Robert L. Hoffman, with Tropical Dental, performs gum grafting surgery to restore health to your teeth and gums. Today’s oral surgery is a far cry from methods used in the past. There’s no need to fear gum surgery.
Here’s what you can expect before, during, and after your gum surgery.
Dr. Hoffman reviews your X-rays and photos, charts the amount of recession you have, and measures the pockets or space around the teeth where the gum isn’t firmly attached. Your surgeon explains what part of your gum is affected and shows you the area where your gum is recessed.
If you are anxious about the surgery, our team can sedate you during it. You’ll be awake but only have a hazy awareness of what’s happening, and you won’t have any pain. Let us know beforehand if you would like to include sedation during your procedure. We expect our patients to have a ride home after this surgery.
During your pre-surgical appointment, we give you a prescription for pain and an antibiotic. You should fill these prescriptions before the day of surgery. Stock your refrigerator with yogurt and other soft food so you’ll have it available after your operation.
Our team gives you local anesthesia and sedates you if you’ve requested it. Don’t worry; you won’t feel any pain during the procedure, but you might feel a little pressure as Dr. Hoffman works on your gum.
We make a small cut in your gum to open the site. Dr. Hoffman then cleans your tooth roots thoroughly because the pockets have allowed bacteria to enter the site, and you likely have some inflammation.
The graft comes into play when Dr. Hoffman takes a small amount of tissue from inside the roof of your mouth. The surface tissue is left intact, so you heal more quickly. Dr. Hoffman closes the incision using sutures or a dressing.
Next, Dr. Hoffman arranges the gum graft from the roof of your mouth over the roots of your exposed tooth or teeth and uses sutures to hold it in place.
A family member or friend drives you home from surgery. You’ll have gauze on the surgical site. Dr. Hoffman tells you when you can remove it.
We send you home with written post-procedure instructions. Following these instructions to a ‘T’ helps you have a smooth recovery without infection or other complications.
You’ll have minor bleeding, swelling or bruising, and discomfort, especially during the first two days. You shouldn’t have excessive bleeding; call our office right away if you do. Take your prescription pain medication and your antibiotic as directed to relieve any pain.
Only eat soft, cool foods like yogurt or pudding. Stay hydrated. After the first few days, add more foods such as scrambled eggs, fish, and soft vegetables to your diet. Chew very gently.
Take it easy and get a lot of rest. Don’t perform any vigorous activity, and try to avoid household chores.
You’ll use an antimicrobial mouthwash to clean the surgical site. Hold it in your mouth for 30 seconds and let it drain; don’t spit. Brush and floss your other teeth, but don’t brush or floss near the surgical site.
You’ll see Dr. Hoffman for a post-surgical appointment 7-10 days after gum graft surgery. Dr. Hoffman will remove the sutures and monitor your progress.
You shouldn’t require any pain medication and should finish the antibiotic by this time. You’ll continue using the special mouthwash and brushing and flossing teeth other than those at the surgical site.
You can begin to eat a more normal diet, but don’t eat anything like popcorn, chips, or other crunchy, hard food. Eating meat may still be difficult; fish is easier to chew and swallow.
You’ll have another follow-up appointment with Dr. Hoffman in two or three weeks to complete your healing. Recovery time depends on the number of teeth affected and the amount of gum restored.
Gum surgery can save your teeth. Call Tropical Dental or book an appointment online if your gums bleed, are swollen, or are sore. We can also treat early gum recession without surgery.