I am on day 6. The first few days were no problem. I am miserable at this point. The roof of my mouth is the worst. Anything in my mouth hurts. I just want the pain to go away. I am glad I found these post. I was really wondering if the guy had messed me up and I am getting married in 4 weeks. Thanks for the info.
I had gum surgery 10 days ago. I was given a mouth guard to wear for the roof of my mouth. I was totally scared to have it done. It was way worse than I ever imagined. My face totally swelled up and then was bruised on day 6, green and yellow jaw line. Eating is a major challenge, but I ate a lot of pasta cooked very well. Saved me. Do not skip a beat on your pain meds, stay on it and time it well, it is a huge help. If you are prescribed a pain med that can cause constipation, you should add some mineral oil into your shakes to help prevent it. It is a very uncomfortable procedure to have done. But you will get through it with pain meds and lots of rest, make sure you have someone to serve on you :)
Good luck.
Hello: I had this procedure done Tuesday September 17th at 10:00am; first day I slept a lot after returning home, but I actually ran 5 miles the day after, and feel pretty good. I had three upper teeth and two lower teeth done, so not a whole lot, but the pain is very minimal at this stage (3 days afterwards). Make sure to take the pain medications as well as the antibiotics as prescribed - I had heard horror stories prior to the surgery and was worried, but it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, my face is swollen, so much so that it pushes my nostrils upwards, and the stitches keep hitting my tongue, but the biggest issue is eating - I cannot eat anything that is remotely solid, not even bananas or bread. I am reduced to smoothies, yogurt, pre-soaked cereal, etc. Hope your surgery goes well - my stepmother, neighbor and sister-in-law all had it done and had terrible results (bleeding, pain, etc) but so far so good for me.
P.S. I opted for the removal of my own tissue from the roof of my mouth rather than the man-made products - no pain on the roof of my mouth, either - just more of a dull ache.
I had my surgery yesterday at 1:00 and I am now just over 24 hours post-op. I had a gum graft on two lower front teeth with tissue from the roof of my mouth. I had local anesthesia and by the time I was leaving my periodontist's office, I was already starting to feel some pain. I went straight home and did the icing and pain meds as prescribed unti I went to bed. The pain wasn't terrible if I was just reading with the ice pack on my chin. This morning I felt much better and have not taken any pain medicine since. From the descriptions here it sounds as though I may have some pain later. I will post again if my condition worsens. I am pretty sensitive to pain, especially in my mouth. Having braces as a teenager was awful, every month I had two weeks of liquid diet, followed by two weeks of soft diet. Now at 48, the soft food diet works with the gum graft recovery but it does hurt to chew. I was tempted by a very soft pumpkin cookie today, which I did eat, but it hurt a bit to eat and I had some soreness after. Not enough to reach for the Advil, though.
Also noteworthy, my wounds were stitched, then covered by a "medical super glue" (my periodontist's words), followed by a pink putty that looks like bubble gum. Everything is supposed to stay in place until the stitches come out in 10 days. I didn't have any pain or discomfort with the procedure. If you can, find a periodontist that graduated from the dental school at USC (Southern California, not South Carolina). They are awesome and have special tricks to make sure you don't feel pain during procedures. :-)
Guest28 and CeltChick are the same person - me. I had the surgery last Thursday at 1:30 and it is now the following Monday at 2, so four days post-op. Still no pain unless I contort my mouth or push on my chin and I've been able to eat more adventurously, I even had some very tender tri-tip last night. I am still being careful with bite size and nothing too crunchy but I can eat things like mini wheats (in milk), salad, blueberries, mango slices and can bite into soft things. I had swelling the first day and a little bit the evening of the second day but no bruising. I was tired over the weekend but that could've been because I was out of town and running about 90 mph for the 5 days prior to the procedure. The only thing that is bugging me now is the "putty" covering the wound areas. It makes food taste funny and I have to make sure I chew on only one side of my mouth. Still, not such a big deal to keep these teeth in place for a few more decades. Please know this procedure can be relatively easy.
One last post on this subject. It is now post-op day 11 and I just had my stitches removed. The "putty" on the roof of my mouth dropped off on day 5 and I ate most of it, the other bits got temporarily stuck in my teeth. This occurred while eating a soft roll and the doctor's office assured me all was well. No pain after it was uncovered, just a little tender. The putty covering the actual graft site stayed on until it was taken off today to remove the stitches. No sensation at all with the removal of the putty, the surgical "super glue" or the stitches. The areas are still a bit tender and I was told no tortilla chips or otherwise sharp food for another week. Also, I was told today it is the Colgate PerioGuard rinse that gives me a funny taste in my mouth, not the putty. I really wanted to continue my posts here so that hopefully it would ease the anxiety of someone else who is preparing for the procedure. It doesn't have to be difficult or painful. Again, I do not have a high pain tolerance, especially anywhere on my head. I am very happy to be able to retain these teeth. Good luck and speedy healing to all.
I agree with many posters that this can be a lot more challenging a recovery than anticipated. I am day 4 and feel much worse, with headache and mouth pain and also feeling lousy from the ibuprofen and codeine and penicillin. I also agree that taking pain killers on a regular schedule helps - and it's harder to get on top of the pain if you wait. So I guess some of us need a lot more time to recover than expected, which is a drag as I have a super big work week ahead of me.
how long did the pain finally go away?
I just had my gum graft completed yesterday. A few years ago I went through double jaw surgery to correct an underbite, which is an 8 hour procedure with a far longer recovery time and a 4-week liquid diet, so I felt well prepared for what seemed like such a minor op. I'm happy to report there is virtually no pain. I took a single ibuprofen just after the procedure, and was anticipating the worst once the anesthetic wore off, but it's fine. It probably helps that since my jaw surgery I subsequently a little bit of feeling in my chin/lower lip area which is probably a blessing in disguise right now, and the only discomfort is if I try to talk or smile, so I'm keeping that to a minimum where possible.
I had gum grafting done on front lower teeth around 9 teeth. It was a lot of money. hope it takes. Guess it is better than having false teeth or implants. they cost a lot more. i had 800mg Ibuprofen 2 times a day for pain ,antibiotic 2 times a day rinse salt water four to six times a day and a paroex rinse 2 times a day. the gum tissue was from a doner. they say it's save.( i hope they know what they are talking about) they did not take tissue from the roof of my mouth.There was soreness but nothing to bad. Had swelling for 3 days. looked like Chipmonk. Hard to eat. Soft Diet only. used ice for swelling. it was done on a Thursday and 8 days later I got sick.Vomit and Chills. Next day i was Ok. The tissue turns white. Dr. says that is a sign of healing. I never was told how long it will take to heal and when i can bite into food. It is hard to eat. lost weight from 110 to a 105
I have to put in as one who's gum surgery went really well. I had it done yesterday morning, just two small patches on my lower teeth, plus of course the tissue taken from my palate. Yesterday was pretty miserable, but today I stopped taking the pain meds and I feel, well..OK. My mouth is still a little tender so I probably wont be eating regular, scratchy food for another two days, but all in all it has been much less bad than I expected.
I had gum grafting last Wednesday and experienced significant bleeding during the procedure, I was swollen also, but my chin bruised horribly, I am still black and blue and it's been a week. They did do from one side to the other, not sure the exact number of teeth. I saw the doctor today and assured me that the gums were healing nicely but they feel really soft and weird. I know what you mean about Popeye. There is not being fine to return to work in a couple of days. I have been very upset about the bruising as I still can't go out in public.
I had the procedure done on my bottom 8 front teeth two days ago, and surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all. I had built it up in my head that it was going to be far worse. The periodontist numbed it locally, which was a little uncomfortable, but didn't last too long as he was numbing everything. The rest of the procedure was quick (30-40 min) and then I was out of there. I was able to drive and even went back to work.
The Dr. told me to rotate ibuprofen and tylenol, which I did the first day, but haven't done much since by way of pain management. I didn't have any prescrition pain meds at all. It is uncomfortable at both sites in my mouth, but doesn't hurt. It's more a dull sting.
It's mostly annoying to have the guard in my mouth because 1-It makes me talk strangely and 2- It makes my teeth ache. The teeth aching is much more noticeable than the pain from the cuts and stitches.
For me, a cavity drilling was more painful, though the recovery was quick for that procedure. Even canker sores are more painful than what I am experiencing now.