Beating gum disease only to discover that you still have receded gums is a real problem. Unfortunately, if gum disease goes on for long enough or becomes severe, it can cause permanent tissue loss. This makes your teeth look bigger and can even expose parts of your teeth that aren't meant to be touched by saliva and bacteria. Thankfully, there is something you can do. Here's how a dentist can help to restore your gums to the way they once were.

Gum Graft

Unfortunately, gums don't grow back. When tissue is lost either from gum disease or something else, like an injury, the body can't restore it. However, it can adapt other tissue to become a part of it. This can be accomplished with a gum graft.

Your dentist will take a small piece of your own tissue and will cut it to match the size and shape of your gums. It's then stitched to the ends of your gums, where it will gradually become attached to your real gums naturally. Once in place, the new tissue will eventually guard your tooth and keep unwanted debris out.

The Roof Of Your Mouth

The tissue that your dentist will use for a gum graft will likely come from the roof of your mouth. Only a small sliver is needed, and your dentist will use local anesthetic to ensure that you don't feel it when it's cut out.

Once it's been removed, your dentist will seal up the incision in the roof of your mouth, likely with temporary stitches. These will fall out on their own after a set period of time so that you don't have to come back in to have them removed.

Unlike your gums, the skin that makes up the roof of your mouth can be regrown. Over time, your body will develop new tissue there and you'll hardly even remember that you had anything taken away in the first place.

Healing

Once your gum graft is completed, you'll need some time to heal from the procedure. While it's relatively minor and you shouldn't experience much discomfort, your body needs time to fuse your existing gums to the new tissue. Follow your dentist's directions and maintain rigorous dental hygiene practices to ensure that you don't develop an infection, as that could increase your healing time.

Dentists aren't just there to help you to beat gum disease; they can also help to repair the damage left behind by it. Set up an appointment and discuss a gum graft with a dentist, like Bradley Piotrowski, DDS, MSD, LLC, to find out if this procedure can help you.