Question:

My periodontist wants to do nine gum grafts in one visit using AlloDerma and taking about five hours to complete.

Is this too much to do at once? I’m very worried about the recovery time from so many at once. How will I feel after this?

Answer:

Generally Alloderm is chosen when the patient has several teeth with gingival recession and her own gum tissue from other sites of his/her mouth will not be enough to perform the surgery. If you have several teeth side by side and they need grafting, it is better to perform the surgery at once.

We perform similar procedures at the university and patients generally tolerate well. The material is specifically ordered for you and cannot be stored for another day. This is another reason that we try to do as many sites as possible at once.

I am assuming that this will be done under IV sedation since it is a 5-hour procedure. You may feel fatigue after surgery for a couple of days and you will have some swelling. Patients generally do not have major problems with pain.

For more information:

Go to the Gum Diseases health topic.