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Gum Diseases

Gum graft recovery

10/05/2007

Question:

My mother had a gum graft 2 weeks ago on 3 of her lower front teeth. They put a cast overtop that she just got off 2 days ago. The graft underneath is white. The man who did the graft said it was normal and should pink up within the next 2 weeks. She went to her old dentist and he said that the skin should be white and that he was VERY concerned. Which should she listen to and what is norman?

Answer:

You cannot decide whether the graft was successful at such early phases of healing. White/pink color may change based on tissue thickness. If the graft tissue was thick to start with, the superficial layer will slough off but the deep parts will survive.

In any case, you should give 3-4 weeks for healing and enough maturation to figure out how much of it was successfully taken.

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Response by:

Binnaz Leblebicioglu, DDS, MS, PhD Binnaz Leblebicioglu, DDS, MS, PhD
Associate Professor of Periodontology
College of Dentistry
The Ohio State University