Soft Tissue Graft / Recession
Do you notice that your teeth look longer or feel a notch where the gum meets the tooth?
This is called gum recession and it occurs when the gum tissue surrounding the teeth wears away or pulls back, exposing more of the tooth root.
Soft tissue grafting aims to cover exposed tooth roots and restore the gumline to its original position.
Soft tissue grafting is an effective treatment for gum recession, but its success depends on various factors such as the extent of recession, the patient's oral hygiene habits, and underlying health conditions. It's essential to consult with a dental professional to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for your specific needs.
Here is what to expect:
There are two types of tissue grafting, Allograft, tissue graft from a donor, or Autografts, gum tissue harvested from your mouth, most harvests comes from the palate, roof of the mouth. Depending on your case, Dr. Ribeiro will communicate your options.
In cases where autografts are used, a surgical stent will need to be made. A surgical stent is a protective barrier fabricated by a laboratory from plastic materials to protect the open wound area from harvest location while it heals post-surgery. To fabricate a surgical stent, a dental impression will be taken weeks before your surgery to give the lab enough time for fabrication, the stent will be ready in-office the day of your surgery. Gum tissue heals quickly!
To make the procedure more comfortable, Dr. Ribeiro will use local anesthesia to numb the area to remove any pain during the procedure. Surgery times vary depending on the areas being treated.
After surgery post-op instructions will be reviewed. - The two most important things are: keeping it clean and out of trauma. Keeping it clean means you still should brush the teeth in the area (soft bristles tooth brush) but do not touch the gums on the surgical area. Also, keeping out of trauma means fluid diet only for 2 weeks. The new gum tissue added to the area at first is a dead piece of tissue. The first 2 weeks are crucial to make sure your own blood supply grows within the new tissue, this will initiate the integration process. Any trauma during this time could compromise the graft partially or fully.
