I just got most of my top teeth grafted with alloderm grafts 3 days ago. I have been following all of the periodontist's instructions and taking all meds and vitamins. I have been putting ice packs on my face all day, everyday and have been spending most of my time on the couch. I guess I expected that the swelling would be greatly reduced by now and I would be concentrating mostly on eating soft foods and not doing anything strenuous. My face still looks very bloated and I can barely open my mouth, making it only possible to eat foods like applesauce that require no chewing at all. Is this normal? When can I expect to look like myself again? I certainly don't want to hinder any recovery by doing normal activities before it's safe to, but when can I expect to be able to clean the house, go shopping, go back to my teaching job, etc.?
It appears that this can take several days to heal. I would guess you should be able to start feeling more normal by the 6th day but can shop by the 3rd or 4th day.
I had this done yesterday and am on my second day. I look forward to shopping also.
I had this done yesterday and am on my second day. I look forward to shopping also.
I am on my 3rd day of recovery. I had my lower front gums/teeth, and upper left molars grafted. Shew, am I glad thats over! The surgery was a breeze the healing is for the birds! My face is still very swollen. I have been blending everything up, even soup. I cannot eat the noodles so I just blend it. My mouth feels like I have been ran over by a truck and my bottom teeth are constantly throbbing. They didn't cover the back of my bottom teeth and I looked under my tongue and its ulcerated all over. Just looks so yucky. I had the front and back gums done on those teeth. I think thats why I am in so much pain. The upper left hurts and is swollen but not near as bad as those front ones. I had to call the on call doctor for more pain medication. I wouldn't of made it without that stuff ever 4 to 5 hours.
Last night and today was the worst for me. Hopefully, tomorrow will start feeling better. And, HOPEFULLY, it will be all worth it and they will take. I could not go through this again and I have a high threshhold for pain.
Last night and today was the worst for me. Hopefully, tomorrow will start feeling better. And, HOPEFULLY, it will be all worth it and they will take. I could not go through this again and I have a high threshhold for pain.
I had grafting done on two teeth one upper and one lower right side eight days ago. I was in constant pain until today when stiches were removed. I had two babies natural child birth with not even an asprin and the grafting pain was worse. I will never go through this again. I don't care if my teeth fall out!!!
I had 3 areas grafted from my palate 2 days ago (2 teeth on the left and 1 on the right, all bottom teeth). I took one antianxiety pill 1 hour prior to the surgery and the dentist gave me novocaine which hardly hurt at all. The surgery itself was painless. I have been taking advil 3x/day and hydrocodone 1x/day at night to be sure I don't have pain while I sleep. I use ice packs about 2-3 times/day for 10 mins eacy. I have virtually no pain or swelling.
I had gum grafting done last week. It has been 7 days so far. It was quite painful right after the procedure, but the worst is
trying to eat without doing any damage to the results. You just have to blend everything in the Vita Mix. Also, eating inside of
aloe vera plant has been very soothing. Helps healing. I go in to have stiches removed tomorrow. It has been quite difficult in
the beginning. Prepare ahead of time to have all your food available in house and bring your pain reliever to the dentist with
you to take on way home. Best if you can sleep as much as possible and mainly eat as little as possible and not much if any
talking. It seems very successful but up to you. I wonder if the flouride in my toothpaste could have been responsible for deteriorating
gum tissue in my case? I was definitely told not to use toothpaste at all after the procedure. Hmm.
trying to eat without doing any damage to the results. You just have to blend everything in the Vita Mix. Also, eating inside of
aloe vera plant has been very soothing. Helps healing. I go in to have stiches removed tomorrow. It has been quite difficult in
the beginning. Prepare ahead of time to have all your food available in house and bring your pain reliever to the dentist with
you to take on way home. Best if you can sleep as much as possible and mainly eat as little as possible and not much if any
talking. It seems very successful but up to you. I wonder if the flouride in my toothpaste could have been responsible for deteriorating
gum tissue in my case? I was definitely told not to use toothpaste at all after the procedure. Hmm.
I had gum grafting done last week. It has been 7 days so far. It was quite painful right after the procedure, but the worst is
trying to eat without doing any damage to the results. You just have to blend everything in the Vita Mix. Also, eating inside of
aloe vera plant has been very soothing. Helps healing. I go in to have stiches removed tomorrow. It has been quite difficult in
the beginning. Prepare ahead of time to have all your food available in house and bring your pain reliever to the dentist with
you to take on way home. Best if you can sleep as much as possible and mainly eat as little as possible and not much if any
talking. It seems very successful but up to you. I wonder if the flouride in my toothpaste could have been responsible for deteriorating
gum tissue in my case? I was definitely told not to use toothpaste at all after the procedure. Hmm. ;-)
trying to eat without doing any damage to the results. You just have to blend everything in the Vita Mix. Also, eating inside of
aloe vera plant has been very soothing. Helps healing. I go in to have stiches removed tomorrow. It has been quite difficult in
the beginning. Prepare ahead of time to have all your food available in house and bring your pain reliever to the dentist with
you to take on way home. Best if you can sleep as much as possible and mainly eat as little as possible and not much if any
talking. It seems very successful but up to you. I wonder if the flouride in my toothpaste could have been responsible for deteriorating
gum tissue in my case? I was definitely told not to use toothpaste at all after the procedure. Hmm. ;-)
I had the surgery done eight days ago...a hugh chunk of skin was removed from the roof of my mouth and placed on the gums of two of my lower front teeth. The roof of my mouth burns even drinking water, there is no chewing anything crunchy, only bread or veggies that have been overcooked. I went to have the stitches removed yesterday and they gave me samples of Orabase by Colgate. This stuff works GREAT, it acts as a barrier and numbs the area for a short time. It's better than nothing I suppose. I feel as if this crater will never heal...but I did lose five pounds! :-D
I am having this procedure done on Friday 5/6/11. I had the same procedure done 10 years ago and can say that using the Alloderm is much easier because you don't have the pain of the incision at the donor site in the roof of your mouth. The important thing is to take sedatives the night before and another 1-2 Ativan 1 hour before the procedure. They will also most likely have you take anitibiotics the night before and until they are all gone twice a day since you are using donor tissue. Be sure and put ice (a bag of peas or baby limas beans work great) wrapped in a towel right away. Apply to the side of your face where the work was done 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. Also, be sure and take pain medication BEFORE the novacaine wears off - you will have minimal pain. Don't let all of these stories frighten you - it is better than having your teeth fall out! Good luck!
To the person that just had the procedure done 05/2011. Please let me know how your doing with your procedure now, and would also like you to recomend your dentist to me please. thanks Sue
I had this procedure done on 6-9-11. I am starving to death. All that I can think about is going to McDonald's for some chicken nuggets. I had 5 gum grafts done on my upper teeth (2 on one side and 3 on the other). One side of the donor site is tightly sealed with stitches. The other side came apart yesterday...not sure whether these are dissolvable or not. If anyone has any information on whether this is "ok" or not, I would appreciate it. I am not able to go back to the dentist until the end of June (30th) due to work.
I just have a couple of questions: Is it ok for me to chew even though I have gum grafts on both sides of my upper teeth? and Is it ok to eat a spicy tomato sauce yet?
I am trying to be extra cautious because of the cost of all of this!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I just had this procedure done three days ago on three teeth. The procedure was nothing worse than getting a filling and I've easily been able to control the pain with ibuprofen. I work in the medical field in the operating room and I can tell you that ice should not be placed on the graft site to control swelling. Ice causes the arteries carrying blood to to the graft site to constrict which causes the graft to have less blood flow which can cause the graft to fail. The best thing to control inflammation is ibuprofen.
I had the Alloderm treatment for ALL of my gums, top and bottom last Friday morning. It is now Monday morning and I had to cancel work.
The surgery was fine, no pain at all. I brought my ipod in and listened to radio shows downloaded on itunes. ALL day on Friday was a disaster. I did not take any pain medication at all, but had it on hand in case. It was painful but I think the pain knocked me out and it was easy to sleep because that is all you feel like doing. I feel that the body can heal faster if it can FEEL the pain. ( pain has evolved for a reason.)
I did get a fever of 103 and had chills and sweating at one point on the evening of the surgery. I also got very dizzy from the temperature but it quickly subsided but I continue to have a 99 fever. I am taking the antibiotics 3X day.
My face is still swollen, to the point of facial distortion like the Elephant Man! I can't go out at all. They never told me about this!
I can't chew at all, and when I laugh or use my mouth to speak I can feel it pull the packing material and/or stitches, so you really have to be careful about this. Only eat foods you can blend. Soups, applesauce, peanut butter, fruit smoothies, oatmeal etc..
I will go to change the packing material on Friday, which will be one week after the procedure.
1. I did not take any meds at all except for the antibiotics.
2. I used ice but it does not seem to make a difference with the swelling.
3. Only eat foods you don't have to chew. Do your shopping before the surgery.
4. I had ALL of my gums treated with Alloderm, top and bottom, left and right.
5. I still have a 99 degree fever. Not sure if it's normal or not.
The surgery was fine, no pain at all. I brought my ipod in and listened to radio shows downloaded on itunes. ALL day on Friday was a disaster. I did not take any pain medication at all, but had it on hand in case. It was painful but I think the pain knocked me out and it was easy to sleep because that is all you feel like doing. I feel that the body can heal faster if it can FEEL the pain. ( pain has evolved for a reason.)
I did get a fever of 103 and had chills and sweating at one point on the evening of the surgery. I also got very dizzy from the temperature but it quickly subsided but I continue to have a 99 fever. I am taking the antibiotics 3X day.
My face is still swollen, to the point of facial distortion like the Elephant Man! I can't go out at all. They never told me about this!
I can't chew at all, and when I laugh or use my mouth to speak I can feel it pull the packing material and/or stitches, so you really have to be careful about this. Only eat foods you can blend. Soups, applesauce, peanut butter, fruit smoothies, oatmeal etc..
I will go to change the packing material on Friday, which will be one week after the procedure.
1. I did not take any meds at all except for the antibiotics.
2. I used ice but it does not seem to make a difference with the swelling.
3. Only eat foods you don't have to chew. Do your shopping before the surgery.
4. I had ALL of my gums treated with Alloderm, top and bottom, left and right.
5. I still have a 99 degree fever. Not sure if it's normal or not.
The alloderm did not work for me at all. I had my whole mouth done by one the periodontist who does the most in the country, so she tells me.
It seems that one tooth was covered well, but no other teeth were fully covered, and I think some bottom teeth are actually worse! More recession during the procedure.
The ones that were not covered are even more sensitive 2 weeks after the procedure and my face and smile are distorted. My lips are pulled tight when I smile and I don't have my usual dimples.
So far I do not believe in Alloderm. Seems the old fashioned way is best, at least it does the job of COVERING the exposed root.
Just before the procedure my peridontist explained that root coverage is not the goal. WHAT?? NOW she tells me? She stated that the goal is to make the gums stronger and I have "too much" recession for the Alloderm to cover the exposed roots.
WAIT! Hold on! That's not what she told me before, when she showed me the brochure's before and after photos. The after photos show beautiful teeth fully covered.
After $10,000 and 2 weeks of hell and my face and smile that is distorted due to the cuts and stitches of flaps of my gums during the procedure I am not happy.
It seems that one tooth was covered well, but no other teeth were fully covered, and I think some bottom teeth are actually worse! More recession during the procedure.
The ones that were not covered are even more sensitive 2 weeks after the procedure and my face and smile are distorted. My lips are pulled tight when I smile and I don't have my usual dimples.
So far I do not believe in Alloderm. Seems the old fashioned way is best, at least it does the job of COVERING the exposed root.
Just before the procedure my peridontist explained that root coverage is not the goal. WHAT?? NOW she tells me? She stated that the goal is to make the gums stronger and I have "too much" recession for the Alloderm to cover the exposed roots.
WAIT! Hold on! That's not what she told me before, when she showed me the brochure's before and after photos. The after photos show beautiful teeth fully covered.
After $10,000 and 2 weeks of hell and my face and smile that is distorted due to the cuts and stitches of flaps of my gums during the procedure I am not happy.
This is my experience with gum graft surgery (so far) I had the surgery August 7th. Today is August 18th. So, 11 days after the surgery and I'm in ALOT of pain. I had all 4 areas of my gums done at the same time - left and right upper and left and right lower. The doctor used donor tissue (Alloderm). The surgery was a piece of cake. No pain at all. When I got home I felt fine. The next day they told me I could go to work and I felt pretty good, although I was taking Advil 600 mg. about every 6-8 hours. I work in a doctors office and work with patients so I do alot of talking all day. They never told me I shouldn't talk after the surgery. I worked 4 days straight after the surgery and had some relatively minor discomfort and swelling as long as I took the Advil, I didn't have much pain. They said to apply heat after the first 2 days to control swelling, but I didn't feel like I had that much swelling so I didn't apply any heat. By that weekend (5 days later, the pain and swelling was getting much worse. On the 6th day, my face was visibly swollen so I went in to see the doctor and he said everything looks fine, but that I needed to put hot packs on it to reduce the swelling. So I continued to work and applied the hot packs and by Thursday (the 9th day after surgery) the facial swelling was noticably less, but the pain was still very bad and not getting better. I spoke to the doctor and he felt that the reason was because I was talking too much and tearing at the stitches. *NOW THEY TELL ME!!! They never previously told me not to talk! He said to rest, try not to talk and continue applying the hot packs. After 2 days of not saying a word and hardly moving my mouth at all except to eat and putting the hot packs on frequently, the pain is not any better and the gum tissue is still very swollen and tender. I am taking Motrin 800 every 6 hours and the relief only lasts about 4 hours. Today is 11 days after the surgery and this is the worst it's felt since the day I had the surgery. It's not getting better and I'm miserable! I took antibiotics for 10 days after the surgery and have been rinsing with the prescribed rinse and have been keeping my mouth very clean, so I don't think I have an infection. I am going to try taking 2 Aleve (440 mg) instead of the motrin to see if it works any better. I will be calling my doctor today, but he's on vacation this week, so don't know if he'll be able to reply. If anyone has had similar experience I'd like to hear your story. I am scheduled to have the stitches out in 3 days (2 weeks after the surgery). I'm wondering if the pain will go away after they remove the stitches. I'm assuming that the reason i'm having so much trouble is because I was talking too much in the days following the surgery and I aggravated the stitches, but Damn! I never thought the recovery would be this painful.