How Long Does Gum Graft Recovery Really Take?

Usually, we schedule a gum graft when a patient’s gums have pulled away from the teeth due to advanced periodontal disease. A gum graft is used to restore the gum and is often recommended for patients who may want to receive implants.

Recovering From Gum Graft Surgery

Typically, it takes a couple of weeks to recover from gum graft surgery. We will use an anesthetic and remove palatal tissue from the roof of the mouth or an area close to the recession site to perform the procedure. In some instances, we may use donor tissue. We will open the tissue at the recession site to graft or attach the transplanted tissue to the gums. By taking this approach, we can regenerate the tissue and cover the roots, thereby protecting the teeth, once again, from infection and decay.

What to Expect

During the 2-week recovery period, you will need to eat softer foods and stay away from crunchy or hard foods. It may be possible that you will need gum graft surgery on more than one tooth. If so, you will have a 2-week recovery time for each procedure. However, if we perform surgery on one tooth at a time, you will experience fewer soreness problems and faster healing.

Reducing the Pain

While you recover from gum graft surgery, you can ease any discomfort by using an over-the-counter pain reliever. To reduce the risk of reinfection, we usually will give you antibiotics to take. If you have your tissue grafted from the roof of your mouth, it also will need to heal. In this case, we might protect the palate with a palatal stent, which minimizes bleeding and protects the site until we remove the stitches. The stent also keeps food from getting in the wound site. Using an ice pack to reduce discomfort next to the surgery site will also speed up the recovery time.

Would you like to know more about gum graft surgery? If so, we can answer your questions. Just email us or call us with your inquiries. You can also contact us to set up an appointment for a comprehensive periodontal exam (CPE).