STAGE 1: Comprehensive Consultation: Your dentist will conduct a detailed examination of your oral condition and it may include the following:
- Comprehensive dental examination and explanation of findings
- Soft tissue and gum check
- Oral cancer check
- Bite Analysis
- A discussion about your dental concerns, goals and desires
- A series of dental photographs or X-rays
- Discussion of alternative treatment options
- An opportunity to ask a dentist any questions you may have about our treatments
- A treatment plan
Alternative Treatment options for Gum Recession:
- Desensitizing agents: A combination of special toothpastes, varnishes and bonding agents may be used to help reduce tooth sensitivity. Desensitizing agents mostly help to reduce sensitivity, so that you can continue to practice proper oral hygiene at home and prevent further recession.
- Fillings: Tooth-colored composite resins can be used to cover exposed roots of a tooth.
- Soft Tissue Surgery: Tissue grafts can repair the damage caused by severe gum recession. This procedure takes healthy gum tissue from other areas of the mouth and patches it over the gaps caused by gum recession. This prevents harmful oral bacteria from negatively affecting the roots of your teeth.
STAGE 2: Soft Tissue Surgery: On the day of the surgery, local anesthesia will be used to numb the area where the procedure will be done.
Depending on your individual needs, your dentist will perform one of the following:
- Free gingival graft: Your dentist removes a small piece of tissue from the roof of your mouth and sutures (stitch) it to the area that needs gum tissue. You'll likely get this type of graft if your gums are thin and need extra tissue to prevent further recession.
- Connective tissue graft: Your dentist opens a small flap in the roof of your mouth and removes a piece of connective tissue from underneath the top layer of tissue. They stitch this tissue to the area that needs gum tissue. This is the most common type of graft.
- Pedicle graft: Your dentist creates a flap of tissue from an area right next to your gum recession and uses the flap to cover the area of receding gum tissue. In this procedure, gum tissue is moved over the recession with local tissue rather than being taken from another part of your mouth. This type of graft is usually the most successful because it doesn't cut off blood flow in any part of your mouth. For this to work, you need plenty of gum tissue in the areas around your gum recession.
Once your dentist has finished suturing up the graft, they'll likely have you wash your mouth out with antibacterial mouthwash. They'Il also discuss how to care for the graft until it's completely healed.
STAGE 3: Sutures Removal: Healing after a gum graft takes about one to two weeks. You'll need to schedule a follow-up appointment with your dentist a week or so after the procedure so that they can make sure you're healing properly, and check on the stability of the graft.
After about two weeks, you should be able to brush and floss again. Full healing of the area of the graft may take a month or more depending on your overall health and how well you take care of your mouth during recovery.