gum graft after surgery

I had a graft done 9 days ago and truthfully, the pain didn't subside until today.  I had been taking prescription doses of ibuprofin (Advil) every 4 to 6 hours and tried alternating with Tylenol, but the Tylenol was ineffective.  My lower front 5 teeth were what I had to have done, and if I am being completely honest, it was worse than I had planned.  I've lost almost 10 pounds because my mouth was so sore, and eating soft food all the time, etc..was a bit of a shock.  Yes, I knew that I would need to eat "soft" food, but I didn't realize I wouldn't even be able to chew due to swelling and being uncomfortable.  I knew it would be uncomfortable for a few days, but I hadn't planned on a full week...very thankful I took the week off of work!  

I had this procedure a week ago, and I just want to say off the bat, it is not that bad. I spent quite a lot of time on the internet beforehand reading forum comments by people who'd had the surgery, as well as looking at detailed pictures and descriptions of the surgery on medical websites (bad idea). I went in terrified, because most of the stories had been bad ones, i.e. people saying that had birthed 3 children and had other surgeries, and this was the worst by far; people saying that if they could go back, they would rather lose the teeth in question than ever have to do this surgery again, etc. etc.For starters, let me clarify that I had a free gingival graft (no sewing up of the roof of my mouth) and did not receive nitrous oxide or any significant sedation other than a bit of valium beforehand. Also, I did not get the fitted stint afterwards that some people are referring to (removable covering to protect the roof of the mouth). I listened to my ipod the whole time, as I had seen recommended by others online- this was a very good idea. The surgery in total took 45 minutes including the local freezing, and I got my two front bottom teeth done. The surgery was bearable, and I tried to focus on my music and ignore what I knew he was doing to my mouth. The needles were fine, but that's because I don't mind getting them at all when I have had them to get fillings before. The grossest/most difficult part was feeling him essentially detach my bottom lip, but there was no pain, just a vague feeling of the tugging and cutting. Still, overall, the surgery was fine. If you've made it through fillings and other dental procedures, it really is fine. Try not to think about what's happening, and opt for sedation if you can (though I really don't think the valium did anything, as I felt completely normal). Also, I recommend KEEPING YOUR EYES CLOSED, and listening to headphones... and not researching the surgery online until after you've had it (if you need to look up things about recovery), though I assume that for anyone reading this, it is too late!My surgery was done at noon, and for the rest of the day I avoided eating or drinking anything and stayed bed-ridden. I'll be honest and say that I got frustrated and broke down on the first night because I could hardly even drink water without it spilling everywhere and/or almost choking on it. The second day was fine, and I felt well enough to be up and about and get ready for my day. I stayed on a diet of water (luke warm), drinkable plain soup broth (luke warm), and managed some yogurt. I was mostly trying not to disrupt the area, so I avoided talking and smiling, though I ended up doing these things too much regardless. I experienced basically zero pain, but took the allotted ibuprophen for the first 2 days anyways. I took no pain meds after that, and never even touched my Tylenol 3s.By day 4 I was talking normally and eating bread, pudding, mashed potatoes, normal soup, and other soft foods. It is now halfway through day 8, and I've been eating fairly normally for a few days now, just avoiding anything crispy, crunchy, or sharp. Eating takes a bit more focus and is a little difficult depending, but not too frustrating.I think that a huge factor in my easy recovery has been the fact that the putty-like "dressing" that they put over both the donor and recipient sites has stayed on for the entire time. It is supposed to stay on for a few days (they told me the longer, the better), but there is a chance that it can fall off within the first few, which can cause bleeding and obviously more pain and issues eating with the raw skin exposed. Try to disrupt both areas as little as possible, and these should stay on. Because of this, I have experienced what I would describe as NO pain during my entire recovery aside from the first day, and some sensitivity on my chin throughout. Also, I'm quite young (turning 23 in a few days) and a non-smoker, both contributing factors to speedy healing. Having a good and highly recommended doctor is obviously also a helpful thing, but this is a given.Because my sites are still covered with the dressing, I have no idea if my graft has taken yet. I'd say the worst part of my recovery (aside from the first day) is the anxiety I have about the graft not taking, or me somehow impeding my healing or ruining something. I've noticed today that something has felt a little different/weird, so I'm hoping that my frequent and normal talking and smiling for the past 4 or 5 days has not screwed up the whole thing.  Still, if I HAD to get this done again, it would not be the complete end of the world... just super frustrating and disappointing, as I've already had it done.I'm a 23-year-old female and had to get this surgery (and will definitely have to have more of them in the future), and I experienced no pain, and found myself living quite normally much faster than I anticipated. If you have to get this surgery, there is no point fretting about it beforehand. Some people just require the surgery, and it's obviously for the benefit of your mouth. Don't be afraid, and good luck!

Had gum graft couple weeks ago. I believe these posts are too premature to provide a true reflection of this procedure. I had tissue taken from top palate. The first week I was swollen and bruised. Definite sign of trauma. It hurt to talk, to drink, to eat. I have lost over 5 pounds. I couldn't swallow at night had to use towel to keep from saturating my pillow with saliva. Woke up and so sore I could barely talk for fear my tongue would hit top swollen inflamed palate. Vicodin was not strong enough,, had to go on Percocet. Second week now...still eating soft foods, bland yogart with no fruit (the fruit burns), cream soup, mashed potatoes, jello, icecream. Soda burns, juice burns, Top palate still sensitive and tissue surrounding graft is still red and a bit swollen.

Dont do it. Most pain and suffering I have ever had.

If you ask anyone who knows me they would say I am a wuss, very low pain tolerance.  I had my gum graft last Friday (July 19) for my lower teeth (eye to eye), and while I was a tad apprehensive really it was nothing.  The graft was taking from behind my upper molars

I opted for the IV sedation, I didn't feel anything, I did wake up just after they had finished taking the graft, but they gave me an extra push of IV and I was out again.  The whole thing (sedation, surgery, wake up/recover) took maybe 2 hours, which is nothing.

When I got home I was a little sore, but nothing major.  I took Advil right away and just spent the day in and out of bed.  I was eating baby food (apricots and yoghurt) within an hour of being home, I ensured to avoid anything that required actually chewing and just minimized any talking, or mumbled.

The weekend went by, small moments of pain but nothing severe to prevent me from doing anything.  I go in tomorrow (Thurs) for my follow up.  I have been wearing the plastic retainer at all opportunities as my tongue is very curious and has to touch everything.  Only thing I am noticing today is the gum glue holding the surgical site at the front is very hard and is poking at certain spots and I can remove it if I tried, but I'm doing everything I can to leave it on (as annoying as it is).

So from someone who apparently doesn't tolerate pain that much, honestly it is not that bad.  My periodontist is very nice, maybe it's a Canadian thing (jk), but I have no qualms recommending this to anyone if it needs to be done, it's better to do it if needed than let the bone become exposed and create more dental work that wasn't necessary in the first place.

I had this procedure done five days ago. And, while the typical me who scours forums to no senseless end, would have posted immediately regarding my experience, today has been the first day that I've had the wherewithal to even get to a computer to type. I'm not going to go through the nitty gritty details of the surgery itself, other than to say I've never experienced a pain to this end in my life.

I went back to my periodontist today (one week post op) because my graft site was still sore and a little swollen.  I'm so glad I did!  It is infected and I had to start on a more powerful antibiotic.   I thought I was just being a baby about the healing taking so long.  My doctor assured me that you should not be swollen or sore after one week. 

I had gum graft surgery 8 days ago. The pain has been manageable until now. Now the donor site has starting hurting, it has a burning feeling and hurts up to my ear and down my neck. Does anybody know if this is part of the healing process. Also, I have no exercise restrictions and have resumed running. Is the only reason not to exercise the risk of bleeding?

Has an allograft done this morning over 4 of 6 of my bottom teeth.  Always had alot of "teeth showing" down there but with age they have receded further.  He used an allograft so no taking of my soft palate at all.  He used alot of novacaine but I could still feel the needle - it actually came from the back to the front and pinched alot.  I have gauze in there now. It is reddish but not alot of frank bleeding at all.  Novacaine is wearing off and I am ok, teleworking from home this afternoon.  He put me on Amixicillin, Vicodin (didn't take yet), Motrin and Tylenol (alternating) and wants to see me back in a week.  He said I have two other areas I will need these in.  I am 56 and female.  All three of my brothers have lost a tooth already so I figured I better do something.  Insurance  paid half.  I had to pay almost $500 for the procedure.  I  just hope it takes..... Take care.

I am on day 10 after my gum graft surgery. I think I had the free gingival graft, not connective tissue, but I'm not sure. The donor tissue was from the roof of my mouth in an open square shape, not a vertical cut with stitches. My doctor did not prepare me adequately for this surgery. He acted like it was no big deal, and he was right - the procedure itself was no big deal. No sedation, just some numbing shots. Over in less than 45 mins. But the recovery has been, and still is, bad for me. For those who are angry about scaring people, I'm sure that for a lot of people recovery is a breeze. Definitely that's what my periodontist expected. But everyone's body is different. I personally wish I had read some of these posts prior to surgery so I wasn't so blindsided by how painful and slow recovery has been. I was so worried something was seriously wrong, because my pain didn't seriously kick in until day 6 and my doctor seemed mystified and said it looked good and it shouldn't be so painful. If I had seen these posts I would have felt less worried and the later pain would have been more expected. In fact, the pain around the donor site has continued to get worse day by day, including today. Now the adjacent teeth hurt a LOT - more than the wound itself. My periodontist said there's no reason that should be happening, and that the swelling should only be right around the wound, but I see that this same thing has happened to others. In addition, he never let me know not to drink from a straw, not to look at the graft site, to use a tea bag for bleeding, that there was a special rinse to prevent infection, or a whole bunch of other things people have mentioned their doctor told them. I'm supposed to have 3 more of these - time to find a new doctor, I think. I believe that the wound must have triggered nerves that go to my teeth (and other nearby parts of my head), and that is why I have so much pain. I'm not sure if that's the correct vocabulary to describe it. My question is for those who had similar pain - do the nerves get back to normal? I know nerve damage can be notorious for long healing times. I so hope that this is over soon. I am concerned because the pain gets worse each day. Any words of comfort or caution from those who had this and it is now behind them?

I feel your pain!! I had it done 6 days ago, and I too have had three children (no pain meds), surgeries, etc, and THIS was ridiculously painful!! I had no idea how horrible it would be. I was laid out Thursday, Friday and Saturday.Got up Sunday to get up and out of the house, then had to come home and go to sleep for a few hours. I was nauseous and just plain miserable. The roof of my mouth didn't even hurt until Sunday and Monday because the rest of my mouth/face hurt too much.I know it's all worth it, but it's a lot more than I expected. And again,I'm no wimp. I've always had a pretty high pain tolerance, so maybe I just wasn't ready for it and it took me by surprise?! I still can barely eat, and now the roof of my mouth and my gums are starting to bleed again. Actually, bled all night, so now I have a lovely metallic taste in my mouth. I've already had to get the Dr. to call in more Vicodin for me. Anyway, this is far more painful than I expected. When my cousin and friends told me how horribly painful recovery was, I thought they were exaggerating or must just have very low pain tolerances. Today, 6 days later, I'm finally feeling good. The roof of my mouth is pulsating , and feels burned, but it's nothing terrible. Of course, I haven't been talking much either, so,we'll see. I still have to get the other side of my mouth done in a couple of months! yikes!!

Vicodin wasn't enough in my case either. I'll try to be brief.

I had LANAP in 2010 (laser gum surgery). I "thought" it worked but upon going to a PERIODONTIST learned my pockets weren't good (some 5's, 7's and even 8!). I didn't expect a miracle from LANAP but WAS promised I could get braces afterwards but of course NO orthodontist will touch me without getting treated for the perio first. My Periodontist has been doing this for 30 years and blatantly stated LANAP doesn't work but he gets WHY people like it: no pain (I didn't feel a thing just a little sore later that evening), and no bleeding. He was P.O.'d at my numbers and said that was why he didn't like LANAP. He said "I'd shoot my self in the head if my patients had 5's 7's or 8's).

I had the gum surgery done MONDAY, November 11th on my left side and took a valium the night before and the morning of to relax. The novacaine shots pinched and then it began. It was HELL. Just knowing someone is tugging in your mouth getting all of that infection out was terrible and the Valium WASN'T enough to keep me from freaking out. When he did the bottom it's like the novacaine from the top WORE OFF so I started feeling PAIN up there where he'd just sewn me up and pain, tugging at bottom. He said he'd given me so much Novacane and didn't want to give more but would go as fast as possible. PURE HELL. I literally STARTED TO CRY LIKE A DARN BABY!!!!! :-( Afterwards he asked for a hug and I just wanted to beat him and the assistant with my shoe but it wasn't their fault...it was my FEAR and lack of education that had landed me in this place.

I stopped at pharmacy to pick up Vicodin and antibiotic b/c apparently the government changed the rules where you can't call in drugs like Vicodin and you must have a SCRIPT. I sat in the car literally feeling like DEATH. My husband went in and got me a blue ice pack (kind you place in lunch coolers) and sped home. I took the antibiotic and one vicodin, went in my room, slammed my cell phone on the bed and broke down sobbing. I have had THREE c-sections and this was WORSE than all three. WTH!!!!!:'(

 

After two hours and STILL having pain I swallowed another Vicodin despite directions saying ONE every four hours. The second kicked in and I was able to sleep. The ice pack helped. I applied it throughout the first day/night. The second day I THOUGHT I could go to work but no way. I stayed home and slept again EXCEPT I noticed I couldn't stop itching. I was having an allergic reaction and Dr. said stop taking both now go on Tylenol. Well we know Tylenol ain't going to do the job but I used it and a dull, aching, throbbing pain has been my constant companion for FIVE days. I have caved in and taken another Vicodin b/c I just can't stand feeling like this ALL day long!!!

Monday the putty and stitches come out and I can already see I don't like these longer teeth but thank God he didn't mess with my front teeth so it's not as visible being it's on the side. 

I would have loved to say it will be a walk in the park but it's not and I wouldn't want to deceive anyone. I refused to watch videos or read too much on it before my surgery b/c I knew I wouldn't have shown up for it. I have part TWO done in Jan/February on my RIGHT side and then I'm off to the orthodontist. I KNOW what to expect this time and it ain't pretty so I'll take off a few days in advance and prepare to rest and pamper myself. 

Best wishes to anyone going to have this done or healing like myself. 

Hmm.... I'm guessing you didn't have the same procedure I had. But you sure are lucky if you did!! I had gum grafting, but no tissue was taken from my mouth, they had a piece of ready tissue. Mine was also for 8 teeth in the lower jaw and in front. procedure took 1 1/2 hours. My jaw is still somewhat sore and today is day 6 after the surgery. I would agree that it's more throbbing and heaviness than excruciating pain, but it is still painful nonetheless. The first 3-4 days after surgery, my jaw had swelled and I resembled elephant man. I went thru all the pain pills often taking 1/2 dose plus ibuprofen. Sleeping sucked as I woke up in pain as soon as the pills wore off, which was every 4 hours for a full dose. I have been on soft food all week and was advised to be until my follow up in 2 days. I cannot brush my lower teeth and I find that eating anything of substance pretty much sucks because it still ends up in my lower teeth/stitching and I'm now hoping lightly swishing the salt water was ok as it was the only way to get pieces of food out. I had hoped to get back into exercising this week, but am going to play it safe and just wait until my check up. It was way too expensive to have to do again should I inadvertently f*#k it up by running.

I had a gum graft on 2 top right teeth and 3 bottom right teeth using Alloderm yesterday morning. In total it took 2.5 hours. Everything went really smoothly. I think avoiding the palette wound was a good idea from everything I've read, although Alloderm does increase the risk of rejection some. I was very comfortable with my periodontist, and they were thankfully quite liberal with meds. However, I've had very little use for the pain meds as the pain/discomfort has been mild.

Some swelling, but no bruising yet, and no bleeding (which also seems more common with the palette donor site). I took the prescribed Vicodin & Ketoprofen (like Ibuprofen) the first and part of the second days. My periodontist also prescribes a steroid to help prevent swelling, Dexamethasone. Plus an antibiotic (Amoxicillin). I was also really glad to have the Valium prior to the procedure, as I get really anxious.

Following the instructions also seems important. Avoid brushing that area. After the first day I was allowed to brush all other areas. They didn't say anything about flossing other areas, but I might try that tonight, seeing if I can do it without opening my mouth too wide. Sleep upright the first few days. Ice for two days, then heat if desired. Only cold foods the first day. I've been able to eat stuff like: frozen yogurt, ice cream, greek yogurt, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, egg salad, soft pasta/noodles, soft cooked veggies like carrots, juice, oatmeal, soup, rice, pudding, cottage cheese, protein shakes, etc.

Only annoying thing with Alloderm is the stitches stay in longer / can't be dissoluble. I have a follow up in a week but the stitches don't comes for three weeks. This is the first of a couple more sets of grafts I'll need. I was going to get it all done at once, but as they are going through my medical insurance, and its unknown how much they will pay (they don't publish the customary amount, which is what they pay), I just got the worst teeth done.

I'm glad I got less teeth done at one time and only on one side of the mouth, as its easier to eat, and it was less time in the chair. The Valium had worn off for me by the end, but I metabolize meds fast. The procedure didn't really bother me. They used numbing solution before the injections, so there was minimal pain from them. For some reason they originally said they could do 18 teeth in a 3 hour appointment block, yet the 5 teeth took 2.5 hours? I'm glad they took their time though. As nice as it would be to get all the teeth done at once (more to avoid multiple recovery times), its likely much easier on the patient not too.

I got it done on a Friday and I probably could have managed work today, but definitely tomorrow. Its nice to have until Monday though. I was honestly expecting to feel a lot worse. Then again, I had no issues with getting four impacted wisdom teeth out, and I've heard of plenty of folks saying that was worse than gum grafts (assuming no palette wound).

They were able to get my medical insurance to pre-authorize it as they found some conditions/meds to blame it on, even though they think its primarily from me having braces in my teens. Medical insurance won't pay for cosmetic stuff, which apparently gum grafts are typically considered. Even if the tooth health was at risk (which it was not in my case). Especially since they required payment up front and I have to pay whatever insurance doesn't cover (unlike most doctors, which won't back-bill you for what the insurance won't pay).

My dental insurance is pretty typical in that its yearly maximum is quite low. I'm pretty sure my periodontist is quite overpriced, but I'm happy with them. It was a nice bonus they would bill medical insurance. It was $1,600 for the first tooth in each quadrant, plus $600 per additional tooth in that quadrant, and the Alloderm cost (I think it was $600 for 5 teeth for me). That covers follow up appointments too (2 or 3). Hope everyone else going through gum graft procedures has a smooth recovery! Best wishes.

I am 55 this is my 3rd time. It was the worst recovery. I bring headphones to listen to music, to relax me. It is the 3rd day and I still have a headache & pressure in my head. I take my antibiotic, pain meds, and my migraine medicine. Eat soft cool food. Do not eat hard, cold, or hot food. Eat small pieces of food on the good side. Use salt water rinse, drink lots of water. Don't bend over, stay quiet and rest. My headache is the worst, this is the 1st time I got a really bad headache after gum surgery.