“Concern for gum graft recovery”
I had gum graft surgery 10 days ago. Now I'm pretty much recovered. But the stitch came out by itself last weekend. I did a follow up visit with the dentist who said it looks good and not a problem. But today I noticed the graft (new gum patch) does not stick to my teeth tightly. There's slightly a gap between them. When I touch it, the graft area shakes, but position is not moving. Is this a concern or not? Thanks.
Female | 37 years old
21 Answers
Do not touch it, it takes time to settle give it at least 4 months before final evaluation
Hello, please do not touch your graft, pull the lip or disturb the healing of the graft. For what I can read looks successful so please dont disturb the site. Use some clorhexidine gluconate 0.12% mouthrinse to rinse after meals twice per day and refrain from brushing that area
Hi,
It is not possible to evaluate the situation without visual inspection. It
does seem to be of concern and will be a good idea to be seen by the
periodontist, who performed the surgery. Bear in mind that the final result
of the gum grafting is achieved after a year.
In Health,
Dr. Iontcheva-Barehmi
It is not possible to evaluate the situation without visual inspection. It
does seem to be of concern and will be a good idea to be seen by the
periodontist, who performed the surgery. Bear in mind that the final result
of the gum grafting is achieved after a year.
In Health,
Dr. Iontcheva-Barehmi
Just to be safe, please return to see your periodontist to check it out
Yes, the graft appears not to be attached to the tooth. Was it a free gingival graft or a CT graft?
Hello!
It takes about a minimum of a month to the soft tissue procedure heal, adapt and even after that there will be few changes. As long as you have root coverage that you sought out for, you should be fine, as you get from anywhere from a 100% to 75% coverage. Try not to look at it too much, just apply some H2O2 to keep it clean and let the body do the healing process. Also, as I have not seen the area personally, keep follow up appointments with the periodontist/dental surgeon who completed the procedure.
Hope this helps. Let me know if there any other question you have.
It takes about a minimum of a month to the soft tissue procedure heal, adapt and even after that there will be few changes. As long as you have root coverage that you sought out for, you should be fine, as you get from anywhere from a 100% to 75% coverage. Try not to look at it too much, just apply some H2O2 to keep it clean and let the body do the healing process. Also, as I have not seen the area personally, keep follow up appointments with the periodontist/dental surgeon who completed the procedure.
Hope this helps. Let me know if there any other question you have.
Hi there!
Great that you followed up with your dentist. The first 3-4 weeks are very critical after the gum grafting surgery. That's the time when new blood vessels are forming in between your gum graft and your gums. It takes time for the graft to be tight & firm around your tooth. My advice to you is to refrain from touching the graft. Any activity that would move the graft or shake the graft can disturb it from connecting to the tooth. So, leave it undisturbed. The slight gap that you notice will slowly close. It will be delayed if the site is disturbed.
I hope this helps.
Great that you followed up with your dentist. The first 3-4 weeks are very critical after the gum grafting surgery. That's the time when new blood vessels are forming in between your gum graft and your gums. It takes time for the graft to be tight & firm around your tooth. My advice to you is to refrain from touching the graft. Any activity that would move the graft or shake the graft can disturb it from connecting to the tooth. So, leave it undisturbed. The slight gap that you notice will slowly close. It will be delayed if the site is disturbed.
I hope this helps.
Yes, this is a concern and should be check as soon as possible.
I am a periodontist. I do this all day along. Gum graft may take takes several months to totally adhere to the tooth or existing gums. Consult with your periodontist so he can anser this for you.
Take care.
Kumar T. Vadivel, DDS, MS, FDS RCS
Take care.
Kumar T. Vadivel, DDS, MS, FDS RCS
The grafts usually take 6-8 weeks to heal and mature. Stability of the graft during the healing phase is really important and try not to touch it as much as possible.
Thank you-
Thank you-
If this was a graft for root coverage, it is not uncommon for the top part of the graft to not stick to the tooth. It should tighten up over the next 2 – 3 weeks. By 6 weeks then we can tell how much stuck and what it will look like. If it's a little loose then do not eat on it, and use an ultrasoft toothbrush very gently, or a Q-tip or washcloth, and give it time. Good luck.
I think you should go back to the periodontist who did the surgery.
This probably will be fine but you may have to have a minor surgical revision so that the gum will stick better to the root of the tooth and underlying bone.
Not a big problem but I prefer to see the graft tightly attached to the bone. Sometimes if the graft was thick then some elastic and fat tissue nay be present. I would wait 2 months and if it's still mobile then flap the tissue back and remove any: fat, elastic or muscle fibers.
First of all you shouldn't touch it. Primary healing of a graft is between 10 to 15 days. Total healing of a graft, depending what type of graft was done, can take up to 10 weeks. You should stick to your periodontist's post operative advise.
It is still very early on in the healing phase for a gum graft. It can take 6–8 weeks for the gum graft to fully mature and heal. If the surgeon is pleased so far, I would accept that. Please do not touch the graft as the more it moves, the less likely it is to attach properly.
Best regards,
Alan Rothstein, DDS, FICD
Best regards,
Alan Rothstein, DDS, FICD
Miriam Ting
Periodontist
It is possible that a connective tissue attachment did not form to the tooth. It is not possible to determine that without a clinical examination.
The graft has worked. It may not cover the root surface 100% and will set a bit lower (on lower teeth) or higher (on upper teeth), depending on which teeth we're talking about, but do not touch or move the graft anymore. Call your doctor to explain the condition and have her/him look at it.
Please return to your dentist so the problem can be properly evaluated. It’s possible that your graft lost its attachment to the root and epithelial tissue grew instead. Epithelial tissue will not stick to the tooth root.
It is a concern, but I would wait a couple of months to evaluate the success of the graft. It's really not a good time to add sutures or do anything else but just let it heal.
At 10 days, the graft is still healing. At a month, you will have a much better idea of the graft's outcome. In the mean time, keep the tooth surfaces adjacent to the graft clean to optimize the graft outcome.
