Gum Grafts

Receding gums aren’t just unhealthy; they can also practically ruin your smile. The resulting gaps where bacteria builds up can cause further damage. A receding gumline is not always the result of poor dental habits, but can also be caused by factors out of your control. Grinding or clenching your teeth, hormonal changes and heredity can all play a role. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, up to 30% of the population could be predisposed to gum disease.

If left untreated, receding gums can cause severe damage to the supporting tissues and surrounding bone structure. A healthy diet, smoking cessation and regular checkups can help to maintain healthy gums. Contact us today to see how we can improve your natural smile.

Specialists who perform connective tissue grafts create an incision flap on the roof of the mouth, remove healthy gum tissue from underneath that first layer of skin, and then stitch that healthy new tissue onto the existing gum tissue that needs the graft.

Connective tissue gum grafts take healthy gum tissue from underneath the first layer of skin on the roof of the mouth by creating a flap, stitch the new tissue onto existing gum tissue, and then stitch the flap closed again.

For those with thinner gum tissue, healthy gum tissue is taken directly from the roof of the mouth (instead of underneath the top layer) and stitched to the existing gum tissue around the affected area. This procedure is most often applied to patients who already have thinning gums.

Allografts use existing healthy gum tissue from a donor as graft material rather than patient’s own tissue.