questions about gum surgery AND need POSITIVE VIBES!

Has any one of you have had gum surgery? If so, what did your dentist do? How bad was it? How long was the recovery period for you? Any recommendations for the recovery period?

The reason I'm asking is because as of now, I need gum surgery...

About 6 months ago, I noticed some discomfort on my left side of gum/teeth so I went to the dentist to have it checked out. She noticed the gums were inflammed so she referred me to a specialist. This specialist basically measured my gums depth using scale of 1 to 6 meaning 1 is GREAT and 6 is BAD.

Some of my gums was measured 4-5 which was not good at all! She said I need surgery but I wanted to try other options so for about 6 months, I would brush my teeth 2 x a day, floss every day and clean mouth out with mouthwaste RELIGIOUSLY and my gums started improving a bit..

Last Thurs, I went in to have gums checked again and my gums got a lot worse. One area was measured to be a SIX!!!!! She said I need surgery on that part of the gums.

What she will do is make 2 cuts on the gum all the way TO THE BONE- one cut on the outside of the gum and one on the inside of the gum (hope that makes sense??). After cutting the gum open, she will smooth the BONE down (apparently I have some bone loss which is causing problems with gums fitting- hard for me to explain). I am not sure what kind of tool she'll use to smooth the bone down and that SCARES ME the MOST. After she does this, she will stitch the gums back together then put some special kind of plaster on top of the cut/stitches.

This SOUNDS PAINFUL!!!
I am now waiting to hear from insurance to see if they will cover it (I think they will cover 80% so meaning I have to pay out of my own pocket for the rest.) then schedule the surgery.

Dentist says the recovery period will be 4 weeks so I cannot eat any real food- only food like yogurt, smoothies, soup, etc. I also will have pain killers (which is GOOD since I do NOT HANDLE PAIN well!).

I just need positive vibes for me that the insurance will cover more than 80% and that this will go smoothly and I'll recover quickly with little pain...

While I've never actually had gum surgery, I do feel your pain. I've had some oral surgery done, one was called a "forced eruption" where they attached wires to my teeth that were inside my face. These wires were pulled back and attached somewhere on my braces in the back of my mouth, and I would have to go back to the orthodontist every so often to have those wires tightened. What they were doing was slowly forcing those teeth in my face (they were my eyeteeth) to erupt from my gums because the stupid things wouldn't come out on their own. That kinda hurt. A little.

The other oral surgery I had was when I got my wisdom teeth out. I was sick for a day, and then I was okay. But what I am getting at is you WILL get through it! It seems scary, and yes it will probably hurt more than a little, but you will survive! Are they going to put you out for this? That's rather nice because you have a nice sleep, and when you wake up you don't quite regain your senses for a few hours.

Ask for Tylenol with Codein. Codein is your friend.
All the catsite people are here for you!

Yes, codeine is your friend, unless you're like me and respond strangely to it... if you take one and feel jittery and itchy, ask for something else!

Originally Posted by Sweet72947

While I've never actually had gum surgery, I do feel your pain. I've had some oral surgery done, one was called a "forced eruption" where they attached wires to my teeth that were inside my face. These wires were pulled back and attached somewhere on my braces in the back of my mouth, and I would have to go back to the orthodontist every so often to have those wires tightened. What they were doing was slowly forcing those teeth in my face (they were my eyeteeth) to erupt from my gums because the stupid things wouldn't come out on their own. That kinda hurt. A little.

The other oral surgery I had was when I got my wisdom teeth out. I was sick for a day, and then I was okay. But what I am getting at is you WILL get through it! It seems scary, and yes it will probably hurt more than a little, but you will survive! Are they going to put you out for this? That's rather nice because you have a nice sleep, and when you wake up you don't quite regain your senses for a few hours.

Ask for Tylenol with Codein. Codein is your friend.

All the catsite people are here for you!

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WOW That sure sound PAINFUL about forcing teeth to erupt from your gums over a period of time! Oh I already asked about pain killers cuz pain is NOT A FRIEND OF MINE! She promised to give me some strong medience but I'll double check and make sure it has codeine or something as powerful as that for the first couple days.. What a WIMP I am!

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Yes, codeine is your friend, unless you're like me and respond strangely to it... if you take one and feel jittery and itchy, ask for something else!

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I have had various surgeries (knee, hand and boob surgeries) so I have had codeine and have not had any adverse reactions to it so far.

Guess I'll look forward to being high on drugs One day if you see me online and not making sense.... One guess on what I'm on!

THANKS for the sympathy.. *sigh* I am still DREADING it though.

I don't know the technical name for it, but I had some crowns lengthened. The procedure was basically to take a laser and burn away the gum above the tooth, then after it healed, place in new crowns so that less of my gums showed when I smiled. Make sense? Anyway, it was a breeze. It looked ugly as hell for awhile, but I can't say it was really painful either during or after. The bleeding and blood clots were unsightly. I got Vicadin. If can be your friend too.

I also have gum problems, but I only have a couple of fours now. I had the deep cleaning done about a year and a half ago, and then regular cleaning every four months. Pain in the rear, especially when I didn't have dental insurance at the time. (Got it now! )

When I was a kid I didn't have the best of dental care, so both my brother and I are paying the price for it now. Dental procedures have come along way. I think you'll find that your worrying about it ahead of time is the worst part. Think POSITIVE! You WANT to keep your teeth!

Originally Posted by Cinder

I don't know the technical name for it, but I had some crowns lengthened. The procedure was basically to take a laser and burn away the gum above the tooth, then after it healed, place in new crowns so that less of my gums showed when I smiled. Make sense? Anyway, it was a breeze. It looked ugly as hell for awhile, but I can't say it was really painful either during or after. The bleeding and blood clots were unsightly. I got Vicadin. If can be your friend too.

I also have gum problems, but I only have a couple of fours now. I had the deep cleaning done about a year and a half ago, and then regular cleaning every four months. Pain in the rear, especially when I didn't have dental insurance at the time. (Got it now!

)

When I was a kid I didn't have the best of dental care, so both my brother and I are paying the price for it now. Dental procedures have come along way. I think you'll find that your worrying about it ahead of time is the worst part. Think POSITIVE! You WANT to keep your teeth!

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It's called crown lengthening....pretty easy. I'm going to school to be a Dental Assistant(boards are in a week and a half!).

I haven't seen the gum surgery done but I know it will be better in the end. You really do want to keep your teeth for as long as you can. I'm sure your dentist has done many of these before adn you have nothing to worry about.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Oscarsmommy

It's called crown lengthening....pretty easy. I'm going to school to be a Dental Assistant(boards are in a week and a half!

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Alright! Good for you and good luck with the boards! My nephew's wife is a dental assistant. It's a profession I would seriously consider if I were younger.

My regular dentist wouldn't do the lengthening and sent me to a specialist. I probably paid way more than I needed too.

To answer some of your questions regarding periodontal surgery, yes, I have had gum surgery. Not once, not twice, but many times as it is genetic. It is very important to find a well qualified periodontist. Postponing the surgery can only make things worse. I'll be honest, it is not the most pleasant experience but you will survive it. One of the toughest things for me was that it is not over in one visit, you have to make several trips back. However, if you follow the doctor's directions it does make things better. What you are describing sounds like a gingevectomy. It is also not cheap and hopefully your insurance will cover it. If not, ask the doctor about a payment plan. Best of luck!

If DH doesn't get some of the rest of his teeth pulled before the partial and the upper denture he may have to have that done too.. Hopefully not with everything else plus we don't have any insureance so we are paying for everything by ourselves.

Good luck to you dear! We are sending you tons of VIBES!!! I hope they are painless and quick healing!!

I have had the same procedure done TWICE on my entire mouth. The periodontist did one quarter of my mouth at a time which meant four visits to do the whole mouth. He numbed the area extremely well and I did not feel a thing while he was doing it. The only uncomfortable thing about having it done was sitting there with my mouth open for so long! The "dressing" over the stithces was not hard, but sort of moldable. I just had to be careful not to chew or brush on that side while the stitches were in. I didn't need any super pain medication, only tylenol with codeine for a day or two.

The removal of the stitches was not painful at all (about 10 days after the procedure). You will notice a lot more space between your teeth after the procedure and will need to make sure you floss well all the time to keep those spaces clean. If you need to have more than one area done, the periodontist will probably want to wait a couple of months between procedures like mine did to make sure the first area is healed completely before doing another area.

In my case, the problem is also genetic, so I may need to have it done again in the future, even though I make sure I take good care of my teeth. Instead of getting my teeth cleaned twice a year like most people, I see my regular dentist twice a year and my periodontist twice a year, scheduled so that I see one of them every three months. My insurance only covers two of the cleanings, and I have to pay for the other two, but I want to keep my own teeth for as long as I can!!

Oh hun that doesn't sound like fun! I've not had surgery done before - good grief I'm petrifired of dentists - but I'll probably need it at some point in life. Good vibes coming your way I hope it goes well and you have a quick recovery period

I haven't had that procedure done, but I have had a skin graft on my gums before. Basically due to braces, I lost a lot of gum tissue on my bottom front gum line. They gut a piece of skin from the roof of my mouth, and sewed it to cover the roots of my teeth (which were exposed by this point).

The only painful part of it was that I had to wait THREE HOURS to get my vicodin prescription filled at the pharmacy, so of course the Novocaine wore off by them. The gum line was the most painful, but after taking the medicine, all was fine.

Good luck!!!!

I have also had a gingevectomy(don't know if I spelled that right). It was one of the most miserable experiences of my life. My mouth didn't stop bleeding for over 14 hours and the doctor's office said there was nothing to be done. I will have to go back after the removal of my braces so that my gums can get cleaned up a bit, and I am absolutely dreading it. However, I did recover in only two weeks, not four. I was taking valum(gosh I stink at spelling). My doctor said that my surgery was not as successful as he had hoped because I was his youngest patient for this procedure to date (I was 14 at the time). Luckily for me, I got out of school! Best of luck on the procedure and the recovery. Who knows, I might just have been a wimp and maybe overexagerated a little!

I had two gum surgeries (one when I had some gum grafted from one part of my mouth to another and one when they shaped my gums to make them more aesthetically pleasing). I was in middle school for both of these surgeries I believe. And while I do remember it was painful, I think having my wisdom teeth out was worse. My dad actually had the same gum surgery you are talking about. He said it hurt of course, but he made it.

Originally Posted by Cassie-ondra

I have also had a gingevectomy(don't know if I spelled that right).

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Yes, the spelling is correct

Originally Posted by emrldsky

They gut a piece of skin from the roof of my mouth, and sewed it to cover the roots of my teeth (which were exposed by this point).

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Nowadays there is a method where the doctor doesn't need to gut/cut the roof of your mouth. It is called the alloderm gum graft and I can only assume it's more expensive

Good luck!

And for the record, around here most dental plans would cover something like that for 80%.

I had gum surgery back in the 80's so things may have changed by now. I felt no pain while the procedure was being done since I was pretty numbed up or I was asleep, I don't remember which.

I had to drink from a straw for quite a while, my family brought over protein drinks. The worst part is after the surgery I could no longer let anything cold hit my gums. When the dentist told me to rinse out my mouth after he took out the stiches, I used cold water and saw stars so when you rinse out your mouth, use warmish water.

Like I said, this was 30 years ago and things may be done differently. Good luck to you, hope all goes well.

This thread was from 2007, so I'm not sure why it has been resurrected.