Question:

In November I had a bone graft, where a tooth had been pulled. The gum was infected and I took antibiodics. I went back to the dentist in January and the bone graft appears okay, but the gum was still open and unhealed. I went back again Feb 3 and the gum still hasn`t closed. The dentist sutured it again and put me on Clendix and Bexident Gel and told me to come back in 10 days. If it still hasn`t healed, do you have any sugestions? Thanks

Answer:

A wound that has not healed in more than three months is interesting to read about. It appears that it is not hurting you, so you probably do not have exposed bone. I have to know what is exposed: bone/graft material/membrane to answer the question. If the wound is large and you have a non resorbable membrane covering bone graft material, your gums will probably not close the wound unless dentist removes the membrane.

In any case, we wait approximately four months after what we call the socket preservation procedure (depends on the type of bone graft used). It seems like you are almost ready for your second procedure (e.g. implant placement).

For more information:

Go to the Gum Diseases health topic.