Gum graft - any experiences

[likessleep]

I am having a gum graft in a few weeks and I wondered if anyone has had one?
If so, what was the recovery like? How long did it take? What food did you eat afterwards?
Thanks in anticipation!

likesleep, is this a treatment for receedong gums? I've never heard of it but will be watching with interest!

oh crikey, ds might need this

Yeah, it is quite a new treatment apparently. The Dentist takes a bit of tissue from the roof of my mouth and attaches it to the receeding gum. Whilst it may not 'cover' the tooth again, it uses more resilient tissue to cover the more vulnerable gum line tissue (providing it takes, which I have been told is 80-85% chance).
The gums have two layers of tissue - the resilient tissue (which is why we can eat french sticks etc without any harm) and underneath this there is much less tough tissue. Apparently my bottom front teeth are so receeded (is that a word?) that I have just the less resilient tissue there. Ultimately, I am more vulnerable to losing my tooth because of this and as I am 31, the dentist has said it is worth considering.
It isn't cheap (£560 all in all) and I am dreading it but I'd rather get it sorted now.
He said it is due to combination of factors - poor cleaning (I have always brushed x2 a day, but I rarely floss ... I do now!!), braces when I was younger 'pulling' on the gum and a tight muscle between my inner lip and my gum line (they are going to cut this muscle so the 'tension' is no longer there).
All in all, I am very nervous. I know it isn't that scary in the scheme of things whatsoever, but it makes me wince at the thought of it. And it is local, rather than general anaesthetic.
I don't know how many dentists do it though, as I think it is such a new procedure.

My mum has the same, but her dentist has never recommended or talked about it.
It is good though, as previously, not much could be done about receeding gums.

wow, it actually sounds quite amazing that they can do these things!
I'm sorry I can''t offer you any help, but wish you luck, and thanks for explaining.
note to self....remember to floss more

Hi Likesleep,

I'm really interested in this as a fellow gum-receeder[sp?]

Is it really £560 for the entire treatment? Is that for the whole mouth or only areas where your gum is receeding?

Tbh, that sounds fairly cheap, considering how much it costs to get other medical treatment done, crowns, veneers etc, which runs into the thousands.

Presumably that would be private treatment as it's quite a new procedure?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm fascinated by this as I've always lived with the ticking time bomb that are my gums, and until seeing this, I'm pretty sure there's never been any available treatment.

Hi Wiparty - it is £560 for the treatment + 1 follow up to remove stitches.
Only one area - two lower front teeth which are receeding (but it is very bad!). Couldn't imagine having whole mouth done at once OUCH!!
It is private yeah, I don't even know if it could be done on NHS to be honest. My dentist said he'd done it about 30 times.
I really hope it works. He told me not to expect that it will cover teeth (he said a bit like trying to attach a sheet to a worktop!?), but if it does it is a bonus. It basically builds up the gum back again with this more resiliant tissue.
It doesn't really make it better per se, but it will stop any further deterioration than if I had not done it. Providing I keep it clean from now on!
Tis happening on the 1st of October, so I can let you know how it goes? I am getting supplies of potatoes (mashed!), soup and other soft food in preparation for my very sore mouth . I'd imagine the roof where the tissue is taken will be more more sore than the gum which has had the graft put on.

I can imagine it will be sore for a while afterwards, but worth it? Even if it doesn't magically repair all the damage, at least it will give you back some tougher tissue where you need it and help to prevent it getting worse.

Are you based in London by any chance? I'm not, but I'll definitely ask my dentist about it next time I'm there.

Good luck with it all, I'd love to hear how you get on.

wig
x

not that new - mum had this done when I was in my teens - she was in her 40s at the time (about 20 years ago). this was in canada. I just remember her on the sofa for a day or two and taking painkillers. She still has all her own teeth now! am thinking I'll need this one day (have receeding on 2 molars - they are fine at the moment)

wig - am in winchester, but my dentist is in chandlers ford (near southampton).

hana - that is interesting that it was done that time ago.

my hubby is taking a few days off work, as i didn't fancy picking up my ever energetic 10 month old too much for a day or so afterwards (who has a tendency to pull/poke/punch at the moment and particularly mouths!)

thanks

This thread is realy old. Don't know if someone can tell me where they got their gum gafts done and how much it cost.