Dental Q: Has anyone had a Gum Graft?

[JanetJackson]

Hi friends!
I've recently been told that I'm an excellent candidate for a gum graft in the furthest back of my lower jaw left.

Back Story: I went in for a $15 Groupon cleaning in 2016/17 at a fancy dental office and was told they'd like to fill 4-6 cavities (I forget) at a total price tag of about $1300-$1500.  I hadn't been to the dentist in 15 years (I'm low income and have never had dental insurance as an adult) so I was sure I'd ruined my life/teeth... but I also "look" like I have good teeth.  Straight, white, etc. etc. so I backburned it for a bit to save up the money.

Fast forward a year and I've been accepted as a client at the local college dental school student/resident clinic (yay!).  I've been in three times for an exam, a cleaning, and a treatment plan.  They're sure that I only have one cavity they'd like to fill, but they do see the damage that I already knew I had to my gums.  I've just been trying to take great care of my teeth and avoiding hot/cold/chewing in that area for a few years, but it's time to do something about it.


So they're estimating the cost for surgery to be $600-$1000 plus $53 for the filling.  I'll know the exact surgery cost at my next visit.


But long story short... I'm TERRIFIED.  I've never been the hospital for anything (not even to visit anyone), I've never had any type of surgery.  I'm 34, and I feel like such a baby right now with this overwhelming fear. 
I've never had issues at the dentist as a child.  I had regular dental visit from birth to about 2003/4 when I was dropped from my parents insurance.
They way they explained it to me gave me chills, and google is a nightmare factory.  No one I know IRL has had this done.

Has anyone here had experience with a Gum Graft?  Was it awful?  Was it helpful?  Any tips?  I'll likely be scheduling it for October and I can handle the cost, but my anxiety really wants me to get AMPED UP about it now.

Input? TIA!

[schmerna]

A family member had something similar.  He was sore and sensitive for 3-5 days which meant chewing very soft foods very slowly nothing too hot or too cold to eat.  Really not a big deal at all.

It has been about 9 months and his problem is resolved.  There were 2 areas and it cost about $1500.

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

My mother had this done. A few days of lukewarm soup and she was back to normal.

Gross, but clearly worth it.

[Cranky]

Yes, two of my daughters have had it done. They were sore and ate soft food for a few days, but it was no big deal.

However, my co-teacher had it done and was supposed to not talk very much for a couple of weeks - but she was much older and I suppose didn't heal as well.

[JanetJackson]

OK, so it's happened to AT LEAST two other humans in the history of time and they've both been fine.
I can probably take one day off of work, but that's it.  I hope that's enough.  And I really don't want to miss the gym, but I'm guessing if I'm sustaining on soups I might not be strong enough to weightlift considering I usually kind of eat like a HS Football player.

My panic is subsiding... keep 'em coming y'all.  I'm glad to hear of two sucessful cases.

[ToTheMoon]

I had this done in my early 20's (piercing put in a bad spot rubbed my gums and caused recession.)  Like the others, it was a few days of soft foods and taking it easy.  My palate is still two different heights but that is the only long term "problem" I have.  Keep in mind this was also 15+ years ago and techniques have likely improved!

Good luck and enjoy your few days of smoothies! :)

[eostache]

I had a gum graft done about 5 years ago. I actually had it done twice. I have a tooth that is holding up one end of a bridge and that tooth has extreme gum recession. The graft was not able to pull the gum back up but it did stabilize the area. The periodontist did the graft. A few months later he wanted to do it again to try to improve the area. It cost me about $1200. The first surgery he also worked on the gum of an adjacent tooth. The second surgery he did not charge me for.

I did a lot of research on it all, nervous about it. It was not a big deal. I just had local anesthetic (Novacain). I took it easy for a couple days and took care of the healing area and tried not to disturb it as it healed. Haven't had any issues with it since.

[eostache]

Also, I had mine done with donor tissue instead of a scraping from the roof of my mouth. I think it was a bit cheaper doing it that way.

[JanetJackson]

They did mention that being an option, I'll have to ask them about that.
Does that come from corpses?  No qualms with that, just curious/don't know ANYTHING about medical stuffs.

Also, I had mine done with donor tissue instead of a scraping from the roof of my mouth. I think it was a bit cheaper doing it that way.

[formerlydivorcedmom]

I had a gum graft earlier this year using tissue from the top of my mouth.  They took the tissue from the top on the same side of my mouth as the graft, so the other side didn't have to hurt at all.

I stayed home from work for 3 days.  The graft spot was painful enough that I chose to take the prescribed painkillers (Tylenol with Codeine), and that made me just loopy enough not to drive or work.  After day 3, I switched to normal Ibuprofen and was fine.  I probably could have switched after day 2, but it was a Friday, so I didn't care to go into work anyway.   I highly recommend that you get one of the little microwaveable heat packs that you can rest against your jaw.  That seemed to hep a lot.

The worst part of it was that I couldn't brush my teeth for weeks.  I had a prescription mouthwash to use instead.

The surgery itself wasn't so bad.  They gave me only local anesthesia, so I was awake for all of it.  I felt only pressure, especially when they were removing the tissue from the top of the mouth, and then when they wound the thread for my stitches around my teeth.  The one time it hurt I poked the doctor and she gave my gum another anesthesia shot.

I didn't have to rely solely on soup, just nothing that might have a point (no chips or crackers or popcorn).  The doctor did tell me to do all of my chewing on the other side of my mouth, which was hard to get used to.  I think I waited 4 days to go back to the gym, and then I had no problem with my normal high-impact cardio workout.

[WhiteTrashCash]

I had a series of three gum graft surgeries and I found the entire experience excruciating. Just a great deal of pain. Sorry to bear bad new about it. I was on a soft food diet for a prolonged period of time and lost 9 lbs. I think my experience was more intensive than other people's, though, so maybe it won't be as bad for you.

[diapasoun]

I had a gum graft done on one of my lower incisors, alongside a wisdom tooth removal. It was totally fine. The surgery itself was quick and easy -- definitely less scary than I expected. They go in, give you the local anesthetic, snip some skin off the roof of your mouth, place it over the tooth root, put a stitch or two in to hold it, and then you leave! I had a housemate pick me up, just because I was nervous about the whole thing and didn't want to be responsible for getting myself home, but I would have been fine driving.

Afterwards, it was a few days of some pain, but nothing terrible; they gave me some 325mg acetaminophen+hydrocodone pills and I think I took maybe five of them, for the combo of the graft + the tooth. Menu was foods that wouldn't poke or dislodge the graft; because mine was on an incisor, I was explicitly banned from biting into apples. ;) I was told not to brush the graft area until they took the stitch out, but otherwise did my usual cleaning routine.

I didn't take any time off work -- I actually went back into work right after the surgery. I definitely suggest taking a few days off from strenuous exercise like serious weightlifting, though. You need to give your body a few days to focus on healing and assimilating the new bit of gum, instead of also trying to heal and develop your muscles, and your periodontist may have specific recommendations regarding blood flow as well (different for grafts than e.g. a wisdom tooth, but still). If you're good at listening to your body, you'll be able to tease out when is a good time to go back, but if you regularly push yourself too far -- give yourself longer than you think.

[Candace]

My gum graft experience was like most of the other peoples' who responded to this thread, meaning it was a minor thing to deal with. A lot of years ago, so techniques may have improved. I think in my dentist's office, they rubbed a topical anesthetic on first, and then gave the tiniest little injection, and then built from there, so the pain during the procedure was minimal. Afterwards, there was some pain and soreness for a few days, and I believe I took a few of the prescribed pain pills, but didn't need them for long. (Once you don't need them, stop taking them!)

I'm definitely glad I did it. Taking care of your teeth is important, for many reasons. It's a good idea to head problems off before they get worse and affect other parts of your life. You will be fine. Take a few deep breaths.

[Roots&Wings]

I also had a gum graft recommended (this is now 5 years ago). Because it wasn't bothering me, I decided to take a wait and see approach. It still doesn't bother me, it's not getting any worse, so I'll live with it until/if it needs to be dealt with.

[Dee18]

I had a gum graft (where they take the graft from the roof of your mouth).  It was done in the periodontist's office with local anesthesia.  It was painless during the procedure and afterwards (It was done when they were still prescribing Oxy).  The food limitations afterward were the easiest way to lose 5 pounds ever.  The worst part was the anticipation.

[Cat_Race]

I've had it done twice, in two different areas of approx 3 teeth by a highly skilled and awarded periodontist.  I chose the option where they DID NOT harvest from the roof of my mouth (eek), but I can't remember if it was manufactured tissue or cadaver.  ~1300 for each (5 years ago).  Procedure is outpatient and potentially in-office, and not super invasive though I did look very swollen and needed to take those painkillers for a few days.

IT DID NOT WORK FOR ME.  YMMV, but my body reabsorbed all of the material that was placed within about a year.  You can't tell I had anything done.  My perio said he'd never seen anything like that.  Turns out my dad had a gum graft procedure years ago with a different perio (my gum issues are genetic, apparently) with his own tissue and he re-absorbed it all, too.  So maybe we're weird (likely, not the first time I've had a doctor say "I've never seen this before"), but recognize that the procedure may not "last".

I know someone who got some laser treatment as an alternative to gum grafting and was happy with it.  Don't know anything about it though.

[JanetJackson]

Oh interesting!
I'm a terrible healer.  Back in my young days I had several piercings over the years and my body was just like NOPE and rejected all of them, either pushed the jewelry out, or just never ever healed.  I'm so glad that phase only lasted a few years (18yo-maybe 20), ha.
But I have my consult scheduled with them in September, maybe I should ask for some other options.  Thanks for the input!

I've had it done twice, in two different areas of approx 3 teeth by a highly skilled and awarded periodontist.  I chose the option where they DID NOT harvest from the roof of my mouth (eek), but I can't remember if it was manufactured tissue or cadaver.  ~1300 for each (5 years ago).  Procedure is outpatient and potentially in-office, and not super invasive though I did look very swollen and needed to take those painkillers for a few days.

IT DID NOT WORK FOR ME.  YMMV, but my body reabsorbed all of the material that was placed within about a year.  You can't tell I had anything done.  My perio said he'd never seen anything like that.  Turns out my dad had a gum graft procedure years ago with a different perio (my gum issues are genetic, apparently) with his own tissue and he re-absorbed it all, too.  So maybe we're weird (likely, not the first time I've had a doctor say "I've never seen this before"), but recognize that the procedure may not "last".

I know someone who got some laser treatment as an alternative to gum grafting and was happy with it.  Don't know anything about it though.

[Cat_Race]

Oh interesting!
I'm a terrible healer.  Back in my young days I had several piercings over the years and my body was just like NOPE and rejected all of them, either pushed the jewelry out, or just never ever healed.  I'm so glad that phase only lasted a few years (18yo-maybe 20), ha.
But I have my consult scheduled with them in September, maybe I should ask for some other options.  Thanks for the input!

Happy to have made a useful comment.  From quick googling for my own interest, looks like the laser procedure is used to combat gum disease cause by bacteria and plaque in gum pockets.  Some evidence the laser can help stimulate new gum growth and enable reattachment.  I think there's a lot to the bacterial side of things that (at least my perio's and dentists) don't discuss much.  My gum recession is "genetic" but my dad seemed to fix his by going in for higher frequency routine cleanings (every 6wks instead of 6 mos) - our thought is maybe it interrupted the bacterial lifecycle??  Another thing that's totally anecdotal for me is the "better" clean of a sonic toothbrush.  I used to get very minor but noticeable to me darkening in some of the harder to reach recesses between teeth.  Like thorough brush in the morning, noticeable at night.  Hygienist said it was from coffee, but  something about how it developed seemed... less like staining.  Anyway, totally gone with my sonicare.  In fact, my dentist hasn't mentioned recession in a while.  Good luck!!

I also heal strangely, excessive scarring, but not keloid. Have had two surface piercings reject - like on slow burn, nearly 2 years, but have been totally fine with others.  Also had a cosmetic surgery (badly broken nose) where I reabsorbed collagen placed for aesthetic correction.  That doc said he's never seen anything like it before.  So the gum graft later was disappointing, but not shocking.

[jj2]

I had two areas grafted 2 years ago.  The procedure was uncomfortable but relatively painless (mouth open for along time) - local anaesthetic.

I used the cadaver option as I didn't want the pain / additional healing time with harvesting of grafts from the roof of my mouth.  I'm guessing this would be weird for some people.

Post-op, I had little if any pain (don't recall taking any meds) and it healed fast.

I did follow the recommendations for no hard food - can't recall exactly how long, but it wasn't a big deal.

Overall a very positive experience and I'll likely be doing another round in the future.