Hi,

I recently had a root canal on tooth #8 and then had periodontal surgery done on it (the periodontist found bone loss and had to do a bone replacement graft). Needless to say, this was very painful and I was out of work for 3 days. Now I need a gum graft. The doctor explained to me the procedure and it doesn't sound like too much fun. Has anyone ever had this done before and can you tell me how it went? I figure it can't be worse than the previous surgery I had done but would like some reassurance. Thanks!!

What is a bone replacement graph? I have periodontal disease and have had the scraping and cleaning treatments done but since this disease caused my teeth to start seperating (little triangle spaces in between teeth) I have asked the dentist about getting crowns, vaneers, ect...to fill in the gaps but he said that there wasn't enough gum in between teeth to hold the crown in very long...so what do you think he would have to do? Is this what you had to do as well with the bone replacement graph or is this something entirely different. Thanks for any advice and I wish I could tell you something as well on your question but as you can see...I am in no way entitled to give any advice on teeth problems http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Recovering from soft tissue grafts is a very individual thing. I assume that since your graft is in an esthetic area your doctor will be performing a connective tissue graft. This is usually easier for the patient to recover from than a free gingival graft (the explanation why is rather complex). Bone grafts can be very effective in certain situations however in cases of generalized bone loss around teeth they're not very predictable. I'll typically use bone grafting on one isolated bone defect that has healthy bone around it. This usually works out quite well. Good luck to both of you!

check out the DenTelNet discussion boards. Some one posted a positive experience about this just today.