gum grafting

M

ML

Guest
GoingNorth's post got me to thinking about a procedure the dentist wants me to have done. I have major gum recession on a couple of teeth, but one is especially bad and is down to bone.

Has anyone had this gum grafting procedure? It's where they take tissue from the roof of your mouth and suture it onto the gum. I hear it is quite a painful recovery and have been putting it off but GN post inspired me to think about it.

Thanks!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Yes.
I highly recommend it.
My 81-yr-old cousin is missing 3 teeth right in front. I vowed I would never let that happen!

It's not fun, I'll grant you that. I'd recommend 1/2 a xanax b4 the procedure. But I'm an information person, so I like to be awake and alert as much as possible. When I had my first grafting done, I actually counted how many shots were put in ea quadrant for numbing, and when the dr stopped at one section, I reminded him I needed one more (I hate pain and wanted to be totally, totally, totally numb! :tongue:) He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You stick with-painting, I'll stick with-surgery, okay?"
Sigh.

They will give you a retainer appliance to put on the roof of your mouth. KEEP IT ON. For my first surgery, I only kept it on for 5 days, and, well, let's just say that it was a gross, painful mess.
I lost 5 lbs!
The second time around (on the lower part of my jaw) I didn't lose a single pound. :( Tapioca, ice cream, and Lipton's chicken noodle soup are actually high calorie.

Also, noodles and rice can be problematic, as they will want to sneak under the appliance, so don't eat those until it comes out.

You will only miss 1 or 2 days of work.

It is always better to have these things done when you're young our young-ish, because the older we get, the more slowly we heal.

Also, I did it because my ins. was pretty decent. :laugh: Why wait?
 
M

ML

Guest
Thank you Terry! I'm doing this. Your post was the encouragement I needed. Love, ML
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I didn't need this done. By some miracle, I don't have bone and gum loss on my lower teeth. My mother's had it done, and while she said the first few days of recovery were nasty, it was manageable with ibuprofen and the occasional Vicodin tablet.

The end results, in her opinion, were well worth it.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Oh ick! No and a double H double hockey sticks no...lol.

I am way too chicken for this stuff. Im a yank em and give me new ones girl. I think we have started at the back and moving forwards. I have awful teeth now from medications and yes...lack of care.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Janet, speaking as someone who gave up and had the remaining top ones yanked? If I'd had it and the money to do over? I'd have kept the teeth. A plate is NOT a good solution if it can be at all avoided.

You should have a specific motivation for getting your teeth taken care of: neglected dental infections can lead to brain abcesses and infection. Yup. You can get meningitis and encephalitis from really bad teeth.

IIRC, you are on Medicaid? If that's the case, you should have free or very low-cost dental treatment available though you may have to travel to find a dentist who takes Medicaid.

Pls, don't make the mistakes I made with my teeth.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
GN, medicaid will pay for somethings but only certain things. They wont do root canals at all. They will do the plannings but only under certain circumstances and from what I gather now, they want to get the most bang for their buck so they want them done like at least all one lower jaw or all one upper jaw at a time under a general or twighlight in a surgical center. Actually, that doesnt sound so bad to me. If you want to really do that to me, I would much rather be under and not know about it!

My dentist, on the other hand, wants to do it a quarter at a time! With only local numbing. Uhhh...I dont think so. I have a hard enough time just getting teeth cleaned and filled.

I have been supposed to get my appointment rescheduled since the beginning of december but everytime I start getting ready to call, I get sick again. Ugh.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Well, here's one I bet you thought you'd NEVER hear. I have an abnormally SMALL mouth. (I know keep laughing) and small teeth. So they want to take the skin OFF my teeth to make them look larger. If you could have my skin and save the pain? You could have it. I'd love to do what they want to do and have that pretty smile.....but alas.....I fall financially short by the thousands.

You do whatever you need to do to make yourself healthy girlfriend.....pain will go away. Do what Terry said - TAKE dope. ;)

Love
Star
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Janet, actually, having the work done under sedation is not a bad route to go. I used general anesthesia for dental work for a long time, and it is nice because they can get a lot more work done at one time.

I'm sorry about the confusion over Medicaid. My only exposure to it has been via friends who had work done on their childrens' teeth using Medicaid. Based on the work they had done; it sounded like Medicaid was a pretty comprehensive program.

Star. I have the small mouth problem as well, though I have normal sized teeth. It led to a lot of crowding problems. In fact, the fact that I couldn't get in there to floss is what wrecked my upper teeth so thoroughly.
 
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