Usually, you can tell you have a failed gum graft because you will have a large white patch of white tissue that has come off the tooth. Sometimes it may even look like the gum graft is falling off.
Hard foods – chewing may dislodge the gum graft. Chewy foods – even vegetables. Although they are healthy, they may require more chewing than is recommended as you heal from your surgery. Hot foods –they will burn your gums, increasing sensitivity and pain.
Success or survival of the graft tissue depends on the blood supply that comes from the surrounding bone (there aren't any blood vessels on tooth surfaces). The stability of the grafted tissue directly impacts success rates. If the graft moves, the graft will have failed and the procedure will need to be repeated.
Success or failure of graft will be determined by the periodontist or the operating surgeon. Failure happens in less than 2% of cases.
If your gum graft failed, you'll probably notice a large patch of white tissue that has come off of your tooth. Its lack of color means that the gum graft lost blood supply and is dying.
Do not look at the surgery site after leaving here. Some areas may remain sore for 5 to 6 days. The grafts may be a whitish or grayish appearance for 4 to 6 days after surgery, but this is normal until full blood circulation is restored.
You should be fully healed from a gum graft in one to two weeks. You'll need to schedule a follow-up appointment with your periodontist a week or so after the procedure so that they can make sure you're healing properly and the graft is successful. After about two weeks, you should be able to brush and floss again.
The gum tissue will undergo changes for the next 1-2 weeks. The graft color may change from pink to white. This is NORMAL. Then the color will change to red and then back to pink as the swelling decreases.
No matter the type of oral procedure, proper care and maintenance are necessary to ensure results last as long as possible. With a gum graft, you can expect it to remain in place for a lifetime, but you will need to take care of your oral health on a daily basis.
Both the graft and the donor site sometimes turn white, three to five days after the procedure. This is normal healing. Much like a sunburn, the surface tissue sloughs off and then regenerates. This happens with all grafts and does not represent an infection.
You will know that healing has begun when the soft tissues are shrinking and there is less swelling. The gum tissues gradually starts to bind to the root surface and nearby bone surface as well. New vessels will also start to form and the tissues will receive enough blood supply.
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of gum graft failure. It constricts the blood vessels in the gums which will harm the healing process of the gum tissue. It is best to avoid smoking while your graft is healing, and quitting altogether would be best for your oral health as well as your overall health.
In most cases the dressing is left in the mouth for a period of 7-14 days and may be changed once or more by the doctor during this time. Try to keep the dressing in placed until your next appointment. If the dressing becomes loose or comes off, do not try to push it back.
For soft tissue “gum” grafts, the site(s) may appear white during the healing process (up to 2 weeks), this is normal and not a sign of infection. The tissue will change to a pink color as it heals.
As your gums heal, they absorb the tissue graft, growing new tissue around the surgery site and strengthening your gumline.
The cost of gum grafting starts at $1200. There are other factors, like the severity, that may increase the cost. Remember, we have payment options available to suit your budget.
Because the “tunnelling” gum graft approach is minimally invasive, your new gum graft will be a natural pink color and look so natural, most of our patients cannot even tell which teeth were treated and which were not.
Recovery. The gum grafting procedure has a 90% success rate, therefore patients can feel confident the procedure will benefit them. Recovery from this procedure normally takes 4-6 weeks, during which patients will be asked not to brush or floss near the newly repaired area.
The level of pain you experience will also vary depending upon what type of gum graft you have performed. If no tissue is removed from your palate, you will likely not experience much discomfort at all; however, if tissue is removed, you should plan on some mild to moderate discomfort following the procedure.
A: You may resume brushing and flossing all teeth except the surgical area 24 hours after surgery. Avoid brushing the surgical area until your stitches are removed or have dissolved depending on the type of stitches placed for your procedure.
The periodontal dressing, if placed, should not be disturbed. If the dressing falls off, after the first 24 hours, this is not a cause for concern. Simply continue with the postoperative protocol as recommended. If a Chlorhexidine rinse (Peridex®) was prescribed, rinse for a 3 full minutes pre-operatively.
Incidence of graft failure
In the standard setting of FIC HLA-identical sibling transplantation with no T-cell depletion, the rate of graft failure is of the order of 1–2%. T-cell depletion increases the risk of graft failure. Recipients of RIC transplants are also at higher risk of this complication.
Graft failure can be caused by factors such as: Poor formation of the graft union due to problems with anatomical mismatching (when the rootstock and scion tissue is not lined up properly), poor grafting technique, adverse weather conditions and poor hygiene. Mechanical damage to the graft union. Graft incompatibility.
In addition, patients will frequently complain of a bad smell and indicate their graft is “dead.” Because plasmatic circulation is important to graft survival, pooling of blood — sufficient to form a clot at the interface between host and graft tissues — will be detrimental to success.