I will start out by saying this is an experience! I was told at least one year ago that I needed one if not two gum grafts on lower molars on either side. I was hesistant about the whole thing. Then this fall I "googled" it to find out more, and yikes, it sent me running in the other direction! Over and over, "pain, awful, pain, awful," it was like a huge sign saying "you don't want to do this!" So I forgot about it for awhile.
Then in February, once again it was said I should at least see a periodontist.
Here is the thing..
To do this, you need either a "graft" from the roof of your mouth, and that is what everyone said was the worst part..
or you can go with Alloderm, which is made from donated human tissue..which sounds..um..gross..
but there are no other options..
So then the doctor takes that, and sews it onto your gum. It sounds kind of harmless when you just read it as a 2 sentence process...
Well I broke down and went to see the periodontist after my dentist told me that she was afraid if I did not fix it I was in danger of losing the tooth. I have really nice teeth/smile. It is a favorite trait of mine. Losing a tooth is pure vanity for me, not going to do it.
The periodontist was a very nice, unassuming, older guy. He spoke in quiet tones, told me enough to inform me, but probably not too much to scare me. He said instead of taking a graft from the roof of my mouth, he was going to make an incision in the roof of my mouth, and then take a graft and then sew over that, so I would not have a raw roof of my mouth if he took the graft from there..
Okay, I signed up. I just kind of through myself in the pool.
So here is my experience..
I went in early, earlier the better for something like this. I had numerous shots of novacaine, I don't know how many. Beyond that, I had to wear a surgical cap over my hair..whoa..I wasn't ready for that..now I feel like I am having surgery. It is so when doing the "sutures" the thread doesn't get caught in my hair..um..okay..I had to have a much longer than usual little dentist type apron put on, you know the kind that clips around your neck..Then the assistant puts this thing on top on my chest, kind of reminded me of what you wear when you have dental exrays..little did I know it would serve as a "table" for instruments during the procedure..that was weird..
So now the doctor gets on with it. I can "feel" him cutting the roof of my mouth..it doesn't hurt at all, but I still know what is going on. It was almost like he was pushing the roof of my mouth, making me queasy at the thought of my tissue being cut off..ugh..Then that caught sewn up, I think..it is kind of a blur. During this, I can see his rubber globes directly in front of my face, and there is blood, my blood, on them, and it is not a small amount..I guess I did not expect that..and it is getting on my chin, and the assistant is wiping my chin, and that is really bugging me..I don't really like people touching my face! During this, the doctor would lightly toss tools on the little "table" set up on my chest, so that was odd too..what would they do with a gal with big boobs??
So now we move onto my gum. I thought that would be pretty quick..but it seems that he is cutting? my gum..not sure, but again I can feel something but it doesn't hurt. Hmm..for such a tiny area, why is he scraping it away? More blood, more shots. Then comes the graft, the thread going in and out, weird having sewing done right in your mouth right in front or your eyes.
It is over. They take an "after" photo, they took a "before" too. I am pretty much done. I cannot say it hurt, it didn't, but it was so much more than I thought it was going to be. My mouth feels hugely swollen, I cannot really talk. It was kind of like getting beat up on the face..not painful, but just so much going on. Nowhere near the same level of getting a crown, and for my wisdom teeth I was knocked out..don't know what a root canal is like though..
So now I drive myself home. I feel tired. I am told not to swish at all, but just to dab at the blood that is all over the inside of my mouth and falling out, with tissues, for the first day..yuck. So I set up my toxic waste bag, as this is not the type of thing you want to leave in the garbage. There is a fair amount of blood, or dealing with blood, for at least one hour. At one point I am thinking my mouth feels warm? only to find out that the roof of my mouth is bleeding, which seems like a lot, but I read the directions and see this can be normal, and apply pressure with some gauze and it does stop.
I can talk a bit better by this point, so call my boyfriend to let him know I survived.
It is almost impossible to eat or drink. The drink just falls back out of my mouth. You can really only eat jello, pudding, and slurp it down on one side. It is kind of awful, as I am actually hungry.
The day is spent watching tons of TV, more than I have watched in a long time. I was entertained though by "How I Met Your Mother." Laughing is really hard to do, it is like my face cannot make the movements it needs to.
The day goes on, I cannot say the pain is anything bad, but I was going to go get my prescription, for a stronger pain med than Ibuprofen, and a mouth rinse. Well I go to pick these up, and the pharmacist tells me that mouth rinse can cause black on the teeth or tongue..I hope not permanent..but in reading the ingredients it sounds like a major list of chemicals, so I give it back to her. I leave with the pain medication, but upon reading the huge list of side effects, I decide no thanks..I don't want this!! The pain is not bad, it is just more uncomfortable than anything else.
So I just take over the counter Ibuprofen, about 2 each day, for 3-4 days, that was all I needed.
My face was pretty swollen on one side. I should have used an ice pack, but it was just another thing to do, and frankly I did not have the energy.
Forget about brushing the areas of your teeth that were not part of the surgery that first day..opening my mouth was like a major feat. So I just used the mouthwash I bought, and off to bed. You need to sleep with your head elevated..it is more comfortable and you don't want blood and drool getting on your pillow. I slept okay. The next morning, I see there is a like a small blood clot on the side of my mouth, I can push it along with a Qtip, it was really gross, but it was more gross to have it in my mouth. My mouth is uncomfortable, but better than the day before.
Luckily I work from home..so I could hobble along. That night my jaw kind of ached, so I did do an ice pack for awhile. It seemed like the ice pack brought it out, I don't know, because suddenly it seemed, I had a large bright red, but spotty, bruise, all over my lower chin, and under my chin..so ugly! That was one of the worst parts..ugh..and a large yellow bruise along my neck. That all lasted at least one week..that I was not prepared for. I could cover my chin in makeup, I felt like an abused girlfriend..Happy to report it all went away.
So..each day got better, it was easier to eat. Cleaning the mouth was tough at first, and I was rinsing my mouth like 5 times a day, as I felt like I could not use my tongue to clean my teeth. The roof of my mouth stiches starting coming loose, and I cut some, I mean I had to. It was like a huge divet in the roof of my mouth, but they told me it would all fill in. My teeth around that area, and my lower teeth by the gum graft, those would ache from time to time. But the graft area, the roof of my mouth, my teeth, all started to feel much better after 1 week. It is two weeks now and what a difference. The sutures for the gum graft come out next week, cannot wait, they drive me crazy, and look ugly, but don't hurt.
I wish I knew all of this before going in. I like to know exactly what I am in for, although it is true people experience things differently. For pain, I would say 2-3 out of 5, for a few days, nothing I could not handle at all. The appointment in the office was no pain. It is just more the time after the graft is done in the office, once you go home, that is when I felt like it was all just a lot more to deal with than I had realized. And I am a busy person, so I don't like things that take me out of my normal routine of business!
The funny thing, I am supposed to have another one on the other side. But I am not signing up any time soon..I don't think I could force myself into the chair right now. Like childbirth, I need to forget about it for awhile. Oh, and insurance is all used for the year, so why not wait until 2012. Hopefully this gave you some great insight as to what to expect, it is not the worst thing ever, but it is way more than a simple dental procedure..
Then in February, once again it was said I should at least see a periodontist.
Here is the thing..
To do this, you need either a "graft" from the roof of your mouth, and that is what everyone said was the worst part..
or you can go with Alloderm, which is made from donated human tissue..which sounds..um..gross..
but there are no other options..
So then the doctor takes that, and sews it onto your gum. It sounds kind of harmless when you just read it as a 2 sentence process...
Well I broke down and went to see the periodontist after my dentist told me that she was afraid if I did not fix it I was in danger of losing the tooth. I have really nice teeth/smile. It is a favorite trait of mine. Losing a tooth is pure vanity for me, not going to do it.
The periodontist was a very nice, unassuming, older guy. He spoke in quiet tones, told me enough to inform me, but probably not too much to scare me. He said instead of taking a graft from the roof of my mouth, he was going to make an incision in the roof of my mouth, and then take a graft and then sew over that, so I would not have a raw roof of my mouth if he took the graft from there..
Okay, I signed up. I just kind of through myself in the pool.
So here is my experience..
I went in early, earlier the better for something like this. I had numerous shots of novacaine, I don't know how many. Beyond that, I had to wear a surgical cap over my hair..whoa..I wasn't ready for that..now I feel like I am having surgery. It is so when doing the "sutures" the thread doesn't get caught in my hair..um..okay..I had to have a much longer than usual little dentist type apron put on, you know the kind that clips around your neck..Then the assistant puts this thing on top on my chest, kind of reminded me of what you wear when you have dental exrays..little did I know it would serve as a "table" for instruments during the procedure..that was weird..
So now the doctor gets on with it. I can "feel" him cutting the roof of my mouth..it doesn't hurt at all, but I still know what is going on. It was almost like he was pushing the roof of my mouth, making me queasy at the thought of my tissue being cut off..ugh..Then that caught sewn up, I think..it is kind of a blur. During this, I can see his rubber globes directly in front of my face, and there is blood, my blood, on them, and it is not a small amount..I guess I did not expect that..and it is getting on my chin, and the assistant is wiping my chin, and that is really bugging me..I don't really like people touching my face! During this, the doctor would lightly toss tools on the little "table" set up on my chest, so that was odd too..what would they do with a gal with big boobs??
So now we move onto my gum. I thought that would be pretty quick..but it seems that he is cutting? my gum..not sure, but again I can feel something but it doesn't hurt. Hmm..for such a tiny area, why is he scraping it away? More blood, more shots. Then comes the graft, the thread going in and out, weird having sewing done right in your mouth right in front or your eyes.
It is over. They take an "after" photo, they took a "before" too. I am pretty much done. I cannot say it hurt, it didn't, but it was so much more than I thought it was going to be. My mouth feels hugely swollen, I cannot really talk. It was kind of like getting beat up on the face..not painful, but just so much going on. Nowhere near the same level of getting a crown, and for my wisdom teeth I was knocked out..don't know what a root canal is like though..
So now I drive myself home. I feel tired. I am told not to swish at all, but just to dab at the blood that is all over the inside of my mouth and falling out, with tissues, for the first day..yuck. So I set up my toxic waste bag, as this is not the type of thing you want to leave in the garbage. There is a fair amount of blood, or dealing with blood, for at least one hour. At one point I am thinking my mouth feels warm? only to find out that the roof of my mouth is bleeding, which seems like a lot, but I read the directions and see this can be normal, and apply pressure with some gauze and it does stop.
I can talk a bit better by this point, so call my boyfriend to let him know I survived.
It is almost impossible to eat or drink. The drink just falls back out of my mouth. You can really only eat jello, pudding, and slurp it down on one side. It is kind of awful, as I am actually hungry.
The day is spent watching tons of TV, more than I have watched in a long time. I was entertained though by "How I Met Your Mother." Laughing is really hard to do, it is like my face cannot make the movements it needs to.
The day goes on, I cannot say the pain is anything bad, but I was going to go get my prescription, for a stronger pain med than Ibuprofen, and a mouth rinse. Well I go to pick these up, and the pharmacist tells me that mouth rinse can cause black on the teeth or tongue..I hope not permanent..but in reading the ingredients it sounds like a major list of chemicals, so I give it back to her. I leave with the pain medication, but upon reading the huge list of side effects, I decide no thanks..I don't want this!! The pain is not bad, it is just more uncomfortable than anything else.
So I just take over the counter Ibuprofen, about 2 each day, for 3-4 days, that was all I needed.
My face was pretty swollen on one side. I should have used an ice pack, but it was just another thing to do, and frankly I did not have the energy.
Forget about brushing the areas of your teeth that were not part of the surgery that first day..opening my mouth was like a major feat. So I just used the mouthwash I bought, and off to bed. You need to sleep with your head elevated..it is more comfortable and you don't want blood and drool getting on your pillow. I slept okay. The next morning, I see there is a like a small blood clot on the side of my mouth, I can push it along with a Qtip, it was really gross, but it was more gross to have it in my mouth. My mouth is uncomfortable, but better than the day before.
Luckily I work from home..so I could hobble along. That night my jaw kind of ached, so I did do an ice pack for awhile. It seemed like the ice pack brought it out, I don't know, because suddenly it seemed, I had a large bright red, but spotty, bruise, all over my lower chin, and under my chin..so ugly! That was one of the worst parts..ugh..and a large yellow bruise along my neck. That all lasted at least one week..that I was not prepared for. I could cover my chin in makeup, I felt like an abused girlfriend..Happy to report it all went away.
So..each day got better, it was easier to eat. Cleaning the mouth was tough at first, and I was rinsing my mouth like 5 times a day, as I felt like I could not use my tongue to clean my teeth. The roof of my mouth stiches starting coming loose, and I cut some, I mean I had to. It was like a huge divet in the roof of my mouth, but they told me it would all fill in. My teeth around that area, and my lower teeth by the gum graft, those would ache from time to time. But the graft area, the roof of my mouth, my teeth, all started to feel much better after 1 week. It is two weeks now and what a difference. The sutures for the gum graft come out next week, cannot wait, they drive me crazy, and look ugly, but don't hurt.
I wish I knew all of this before going in. I like to know exactly what I am in for, although it is true people experience things differently. For pain, I would say 2-3 out of 5, for a few days, nothing I could not handle at all. The appointment in the office was no pain. It is just more the time after the graft is done in the office, once you go home, that is when I felt like it was all just a lot more to deal with than I had realized. And I am a busy person, so I don't like things that take me out of my normal routine of business!
The funny thing, I am supposed to have another one on the other side. But I am not signing up any time soon..I don't think I could force myself into the chair right now. Like childbirth, I need to forget about it for awhile. Oh, and insurance is all used for the year, so why not wait until 2012. Hopefully this gave you some great insight as to what to expect, it is not the worst thing ever, but it is way more than a simple dental procedure..
