South Ogden
Gingival Grafts
Free Gingival Graft
Healthy teeth are important for our overall health and well-being. This is one of the reasons why you must work diligently to keep your oral health in good standing. Sometimes people focus their attention solely on their teeth; however, your gum tissue is just as important to maintaining this kind of health. Gum recession, for example, is a common issue that affects a wide variety of patients and can cause serious issues with your oral health. In order to help fight the issue reverse (or even prevent) problems from arising, tissue grafts can be done in order to restore gum tissue in the area to healthy levels. Gingival grafts are one of the most kinds of tissue grafts that are utilized for this purpose.
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What Is a Free Gingival Graft?
Free gingival grafts are similar to connective tissue grafts in that they take tissue from the top of your mouth and use it to help promote the growth of new, healthy tissue around your gum line. The difference is that rather than partially removing a bit of the skin covering the roof of the mouth in order to access some of the tissue underneath it, a free gingival graft simply takes a strip of tissue directly from the top of your mouth. This is then attached to the gums surrounding the affected area. This strip is especially useful for patients who have thin gums that need thickening in a variety of areas, not just a single spot. It enables dentists to treat a large area at one time.
Are the Results of a Free Gingival Graft Permanent?
While there are some "solutions" to gum recession that attempt to simply hide the issue by covering up the root of the exposed tooth in question, these methods can actually become harmful and induce more damage over time. Because free gingival grafts are promoting the growth of healthy, new gum tissue around your teeth, the procedure gives you permanent results that can help maintain a good gum line around your teeth for the foreseeable future.
It should be noted, of course, that if there was something done on your part that contributed to the gum recession, those habits will need to be broken in order to help keep your new gum tissue healthy. If they continue, then you could find yourself in need of more help when the same issues that cause the gum recession do so again. You cannot continue acting one way and expect the results to be different the second time around, in other words. That is why it is so important to listen to your dentist and pay attention to the instructions that they give you. We want you to have healthy teeth that will last for your lifetime, not teeth that end up decayed or overly sensitive.
If you are interested in learning more about free gingival grafts or gum recession, please do not hesitate to give us a call today at South Ogden: 801-475-5577 or Kaysville: 801-444-2696! We would be happy to schedule an evaluation for you and discuss your oral health needs in greater detail.