Westcoastmon

audiophile - I beg to differ. I had gum grafts done several years ago and my palate felt a lot worse than a "pizza burn." It took about two weeks for it to heal and in the meantime I couldn't eat any solid foods my mouth hurt so much. My oral surgeon told me my experience was typical.

3boysnjmom

I had two grafts done in my mid 20's -- don't want to reveal my age now but
my oldest is almost 30 (and we had kids late!). I don't recall too much about the procedures except that I disliked the amount of Novocaine and that it was difficult to keep my mouth open for so long. With good oral hygiene and regular dental care (cleaning sometimes 4 times a year rather than 2 times), my periodental disease has been kept to a minimum for 30 years or so. I have started to see a periodontist only in the past two years but need no procedures other than thorough scaling and cleaning -- I have 4 cleanings a year and alternate between dentist and periodontist.

I also have a 25 year old with Type 1 diabetes. At age 18 he began visiting the endocrinologist and other MDs on his own. He generally makes his own appointments -- occasionally asking me to do so. When surgery is involved, my DH or I generally become involved. I also have a college junior who has been making his own appointments and even locating some medical specialists near college (we check them out on line or through friends who are in similar fields).

Good luck.

audiophile

There have been advances in techniques. Did a quick search and found this article: PERIODONTAL PLASTIC SURGERY AND OLDER GUM GRAFTING TECHNIQUES (FREE GINGIVAL GRAFTS AND SKIN GRAFTING) which may be a bit technical, but explains it very well. The patients I refer to the skilled periodontists I work with (one even uses Alloderm instead of palatal tissue) rarely experience more than a few days of discomfort. Believe me, they would let me know.

VeryHappy

Audiophile:

1. What causes bone loss?
2. What fixes bone loss?

Glad you're here.

Muffy333

I had the grafts on lower teeth; the worst part was this bandage kind of thing I had to wear for a week; REALLY gross looking. And no solid food. Mostly a whole lot of discomfort, not really painful. I think I had the surgery in am and went to work in afternoon. Told not to exercise for a week or two.

b'smom

I had two grafts/fairly weird but painless procedure/painful afterwards and my face was very bruised. However, as a result of the grafts I had bone regeneration (weird but I was 50) and have had far fewer gum and dental problems since.

Karen Colleges

Thanks for the good wishes and helpful info. Especially from audiophile. The link is reassuring.

I've heard a range of stories (from 'no worries' to 'weeks of pain') from my real life friends, and I'm hoping that S's experience is okay.

Mostly, I don't want him to be scared. We've discussed the techniques he used in the past to get through wisdom teeth removal; that event was much easier than he had anticipated. He actually does fine with pain, but has a good imagination that runs wild before medical procedures.

Jolynne Smyth

Great info, here! Thanks for the link, Westcoastmon! I wonder if, audiophile, you'd have any suggestions on thinks to do to prevent periodontal problems? (any thoughts on tooth soap or coenzyme, if you had a minute?).

Thanks!

Karen, how did your son's procedure go?

audiophile

Karen, Similar to childbirth stories, you usually don't hear much about the uncomplicated ones. Certainly his apprehension is normal, though. Best wishes to your son!

VeryHappy,

Simply put, bone loss/periodontal disease is a bacterial infection of the gums, but there is a significant immune/heredity component not discussed all that much. Here's a good link: Procedures for Treating Gum Disease

Unlike the conservative position paper of the American Academy of Periodontology, I do believe lasers will have an increasing role in treatment and use the only FDA approved laser for treating advanced periodontal disease: Periolase When I received my certification, 1/2 of the group were periodontists and more and more are coming around to embrace it. However, CT grafts and many other periodontal procedures still have to be done traditionally. Caveat: this topic of discussion in a dental forum would get as heated as an affirmative action thread here.

Jolynne Smyth

Those were fascinating links, audiophile, thanks. Sounds like we should all take some Vit C supplements & maybe calcium supplements, too.

toneranger

Gum Disease: End periodontal disease
Some of you might feel like this is a hoax...but I have to tell you that this stuff REALLY helped me (and my husband).
I have been struggling with periodontal disease for many years - and submitting to awful root planing and scaling - sometimes as many as four times per year.
After using this stuff, I have NO bleeding and my gum pockets have shrunk significantly. For the first time in MANY years, I just needed a regular cleaning on my last dentist visit. My dentist keeps telling me my gums look "great".
Not sure if it works for everyone but I think it's worth a shot. I can't believe what this has done...no more regular toothpaste for me!

Jolynne Smyth

Okay, toneranger, I'm ready to order that. It sounds similar to what Westcoastmon & Emeraldkity posted, re; toothpastes w/natural oils.

I'd like to have something that keeps everything clean, naturally.

Appreciate that reference, very much!

Karen Colleges

Update: S was very pleased that he didn't get freaked out at all today. He chatted with the anesthesiologist, chatted with the periodontist, and wasn't near as apprehensive as he, and I, expected him to be.

I guess that freshman year really is a year of maturing!
Also, I have to give credit to the doctors and other staff involved, they were terrific. If any of you need a good periodontist or dental anesthesiologist in So. Cal. send me a note. They were so calm, compassionate, pleasant, etc. Truly a relief compared to some medical/dental folks we have worked with in the past.

All went well. Not much pain, yet.

Thanks again for all the support, it really helps!

So now, I am worried about him knocking the graft free, or wiggling the stitches, or accidentally eating something crunchy, etc, etc. Jeez, I wish I wasn't so paranoid about everything, but I want this thing to be successful.

Jolynne Smyth

toneranger--I just ordered the dental oil. Hoping for the best and thanks again!

KarenC-glad all went well so far w/your son!! Finding a good doctor is always key.

anothermom2

Sorry, I did not read all the posts, but an important point in the 18 year olds are old enough idea. My husband had caps put on his front teeth at 18, and years of dental problems ensued. He always says that he wishes that his parents had been involved (they weren"t) and maybe he could have saved himself loads of pain, time and thousands of dollars. I would trust an 18 year old to refill acne medicine and that's about it.