Post oral surgery infection is a rare complication and typically happens most often with people whose immune systems are compromised or those who are diabetic.
You might develop a fever that may persist for more than a day or increase after a few days. Increased swelling of the face, jaw, gums is a clear sign that you have an infection, and this may worsen as the infection progresses. Any discharge, especially pus, is always a clear sign that you have an infection.
Infection is a very big concern when dealing with the mouth, and a gum graft does open the door for such an infection. The antibiotics will help keep you healthy while you heal.
Gum graft infection
This will look like a thick yellow fluid that is leaking from the surgical site. It is important to make sure to take antibiotics during the healing process to help prevent infection.
In addition, infection rates following periodontal surgery when no antibiotics were used have been reported to be low, ranging from less than 1%13 to 4.4%16 for routine perio- dontal surgery and 4.5% following implant surgery.
Oral Hygiene
The best way to prevent infection and ensure healing is to keep your mouth clean. A clean wound heals better and faster. Clean your mouth thoroughly after each meal. Use a soft bristle toothbrush and toothpaste after meals and at bedtime.
Infections often occur within 1-2 days after the extraction, but in some cases, it sets in much later. You may not experience signs of infection until 3-4 weeks after the procedure.
Expect the 3rd or 4th day after the surgery to be the worst in swelling. Do not be alarmed if you have swelling at this time, it is normal. By the 5th day, the swelling should be down. For bruising and swelling you may go to any health food store (i.e. Whole Foods) and get some Arnica Montana.
Patient may experience pain, described as a constant dull ache or sharper pain during mastication or speaking (movement of oral and peri-oral tissues). Patient experiences anxiety over procedure and perceived lack of success.
Signs of infection, including increasing swelling or redness of the graft, white or bad-smelling discharge from the graft, red streaks from the graft site, or pus at the wound site. Edges of the graft site that start to open up.
Gum graft surgery is a safe and effective treatment that will remarkably improve the patient's oral health. Patients will be able to return home on the same day. But if sedatives were used, they will need to arrange for transportation. The tissue healing typically takes about four to eight weeks.
Degree of Gum Recession
Meanwhile, when gum recession is moderate to severe without loss of tissue in between the teeth, gum grafting can still be highly successful. Gum graft failure often happens when gum tissue in between the teeth has also receded. Long-term root coverage can be hard to achieve.
Gum grafting boasts high success rates of over 90%. This procedure gives you the best chance of treating gum recession and improving your overall oral health. Left untreated, gum recession can result in cavities, severe gum disease, tooth mobility and even eventual tooth loss.
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.
If large amounts of your graft appear white or even grey, it may signal dead or necrotic tissue. This gum tissue will typically look like it's peeling away from the tooth roots.
Gum grafts can change color during healing. 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.
When the soft tissues shrink, and there is less swelling, you will know that healing has begun. The gum tissues gradually start to bind to the root surface and the nearby bone surface. New vessels will also begin to form, and the tissues will receive an adequate blood supply.
Most patients will be fully healed from a gum graft procedure within two weeks but could take up to a month. A follow-up appointment with the doctor a week after the procedure will be needed to ensure the graft was successful and patient is properly healing.
For patients who are not using donor grafting material, the healing process typically takes around 7-10 days, although most pain and discomfort should begin to alleviate and disappear within 2-4 days.
Keeping your head elevated above your heart will also help. Most swelling can occur in the morning and up to 3 days after surgery. Avoid sleeping / laying on the side that surgery was performed. Two days after surgery, moist heat will help resolve minor swelling.
You shouldn't have any further oral hygiene restrictions with brushing. However, don't use a water-pick, or electric toothbrush around the area of grafting for 6 weeks after the surgery.
A persistently high fever, dizziness, lightheadedness, a rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, confusion, and digestive problems are potential signs of sepsis and should be treated as a medical emergency.
Infections are very common following extractions. Depending on how bad the tooth was that the dentist removed, he may prescribe you some antibiotics to take that will greatly reduce your risk of getting an infection. In some cases though, even antibiotics can't prevent an infection.