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.
It is not unusual to have discomfort for at least the first week following your surgical procedure, though for most procedures and most patients the first night, and first 2-3 days will have the worst pain/discomfort.
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.
What Should a Gum Graft Look Like After One Week? For the next 1-2 weeks after getting Dental Grafting In Poway, CA, the gum tissue will change. The color of the graft may vary from pink to white. This is completely normal.
You will know that the graft is healing when the swelling subsides and the soft tissues are shrinking. Your gum tissue will begin binding to the root surface and bone. Then, new blood vessels will begin to form to enable blood flow to the graft. This stage takes four to six weeks from surgery.
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.
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.
If you simply graft over the exposed root of a mis-positioned tooth, you will have a 100% failure rate. You haven't changed the conditions that led to recession in the first place. So, in these cases, your Dentist should first improve tooth position with conventional braces or Invisalign.
For two or three days following a gum graft, eat soft and unsticky foods.
AVOID PEROXIDE, ALCOHOL, CARBONATED BEVERAGES, AND DRINKING THROUGH A STRAW. After 24 Hours. You may have soft foods, such as cooked vegetables, fish, pasta, and meatloaf, which are easily chewed. You should use utensils and avoid chewing at the surgical site for 2 weeks.
Do not drink any sodas or acidic fruit juices. No straw for the next 2-3 days! 3rd day until 2 weeks after surgery: A very soft food diet should only be eaten (Pasta, soups, eggs, fish, cooked soft vegetables, oatmeal, rice, beans etc.) Avoid any hard, spicy, crusty, coffee or acidic foods.
The graft is fragile and therefore you should avoid chewing on the treated teeth during the first 2 weeks. Also avoid foods that require chewing a lot or that are too hard or crunchy like potato chips, nuts, gums, steaks, crusts of bread, raw vegetables.
When can I eat my regular diet after a gum graft? Typically, your gum graft should heal within 14 days. After that, you can resume eating as you wish.
In fact, there are several soft food options that can help you through your recovery period. Mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fish, soft bread, pudding, canned fruit, rice, oatmeal, and yogurt are all excellent choices.
About 15-20% of the patients ages 20-35 have some sort of gum recession and may require grafting. About 75% of people older than 50 will require some form of gum grafting due to age and normal chewing.
The gum graft is held in place with very delicate sutures and takes 5-7 days to attach firmly. Repeated pulling back of the cheek, lip or tongue to look at the graft, can cause the graft to move during the first 5-7 days after surgery, which can cause the graft to fail.
Gum Grafting Takes a few Weeks to Heal and Pay Off
It takes a few weeks to heal and swelling to subside, and during that time the graft will adapt to the area. After that, it will take another few weeks to see the full benefits — the restored appearance of the gums.
Many patients will say it's about a 6-7 out of 10 on a 1-10 pain scale. The reason it's more painful is that they harvest the donor tissue from the surface of the roof of the mouth. This leaves the underlying gum tissues completely exposed and therefore in pain.
If it just won't stop, call. Food Stay on a soft diet, chew away from the grafted tooth/teeth and avoid any foods that would be more likely to get stuck in the gum graft site, such as corn, popcorn, nuts, and seeds (fruits like strawberries have seeds). Do this for up to 2 weeks.
You could dislodge the healing tissue and compromise the success of the graft. Do not pull your lip away to view the graft site.
During the normal healing process, the gum graft site goes through many color changes. It will get red and puffy, then white or gray with sloughing for up to two weeks. The tissue will change to pink or the natural color of your gums as the area heals.
Gum Tissue Graft: When to Call the Doctor
Call your dentist if you experience any unusual symptoms following surgery, including: Bleeding that won't stop after applying pressure for 20 minutes. More pain, swelling, and bruising than your dentist said to expect.
The third day after surgery, a soft food diet can be started where you can enjoy pasta, fish, soup, mashed potatoes, rice, eggs, cooked soft vegetables, or oatmeal. Avoid chewing on the surgical site side of the mouth.
Until the bleeding stops it is very important that you don't rinse and don't spit. You can drink water, but you can't swoosh it in your mouth. The blood (and saliva) in the mouth should be swallowed. Again, do not spit or rinse.