Do Gums Grow Back After Bone Graft?
We know how important having a healthy jawbone is to the structure and stability of our teeth, but gum tissue plays a key role in oral health, and its condition often reflects the underlying bone's state. The dentist has suggested a bone graft as a part of your treatment plan, so you may expect your gum tissue to grow back as your bone tissue gets stronger. If your gum health has room for improvement, you may find that it does improve after your bone graft, but it does not grow back without additional procedures.
The gum tissue at the site of your bone graft will start to heal immediately following your surgery. The gum tissue will reattach, covering the graft site, but your gums will not be able to increase the area that they cover. As the new bone tissue fuses with the existing bone tissue, the soft tissues will have additional attachment points to cover and protect the bone. These attachments develop between the gums, bone, and dental structures. Once the gum tissue is healed from the surgery, your gums will cover the old bone tissue as well as the new tissue, but this will not address gum recession completely.
In order to understand what results you can expect from your bone grafting procedure, the dentist will need to review how serious your gum tissue loss is. After the surgery, your gum tissue will have the best chances of healing and forming new attachments if you follow the aftercare instructions carefully. Other factors that may affect your healing process are the health of the remaining tissue and which type of bone graft used. As you heal, you may notice that your gums have improved- that their shape or their density have improved. The dentist may suggest gum grafting to further improve your gums and the overall health of your mouth.
Gum grafting is a separate kind of procedure to specifically address serious gum loss. Gum grafting targets soft tissue defects specifically, just like bone grafting targets jawbone shortcomings. The dentist may be able to use soft tissue from the roof of your mouth or from a donor to cover spots where gums have receded. If you are hoping to address receding gums, you will not be able to completely resolve them with a bone graft alone.
Healthy gum tissue is just as important to adequate bone support if you’re considering a dental implant in the future. Gums can create a seal that is firm around the implant so that it is safe from bacteria. The most successful implants have healthy jaw bones and gums, and healthy gums allow for the most natural-looking results from dental implants. Gum grafting can also help with the overall aesthetics of your smile by reshaping the gums.
If you have more questions about dental bone grafting or how addressing it could work as a part of your treatment plan to achieve better dental health, make an appointment with the dentist to see if bone grafting is the best option for you.