Gum Grafts

Gum recession is a common problem which can occur for a number of reasons. These include:

Thin gums (biotype)
Teeth that are positioned outside of the bony envelope
History of trauma
Orthodontic treatment
Periodontal disease

The consequences of gum recession may include:

Tooth sensitivity
Painful and inflamed gums and difficulty maintaining adequate hygiene
Aesthetic concerns
Further bone loss
Tooth loss

Gum Repair Treatment Options

While minor gum recession can often be controlled with improved oral hygiene practices, more severe gum recession may require repair. Options for gum repair at Oasis Dental Studio include:

Autogenous Gum Grafts

In these cases we harvest the necessary replacement tissue from another region in your mouth which has an abundance of this type of tissue. This is usually the palate or tuberosity regions. In these cases you have two wounds at time of surgery. The donor site (such as the palate), and the recipient site (site requiring repair). The tissue we harvest can be used in different format such as:

Subepithelial Connective Tissue Grafts (SECTG’s)

Free Gingival Grafts (FGG’s)

Each of these have specific reasons as to when they are more suitable.

In general, these types of graft are best for isolate regions of gum loss as the amount of tissue available for harvesting is limited.

Donor Gum Grafts (Alloderm TM):

In certain cases of generalised and widespread recession, it may be more suitable to choose a donor graft. This allows us to treat as many sites as we like at the same time as the tissue used for grafting is a medically processed donor tissue known as Alloderm TM. This product is used in a procedure known as a tunnel graft and has the advantage of not requiring a donor site and therefore only the site being treated needs to heal. Alloderm is suitable for all cases that would otherwise be ideally managed by a SECTG. If a FGG is required, alloderm may not be appropriate.