The main discomfort lasts about a week and comes from the palate rather than the grafted area. Full tissue maturation, on the other hand, takes several weeks, during which the appearance keeps changing.

Once healed it blends with the neighbouring gum, though a slight difference in shade or thickness can remain depending on the type of graft and the area.

Can a graft be avoided?

When recession is slight and its cause corrected, often yes: it is monitored rather than operated on. A graft becomes necessary when the root turns very sensitive, when the recession is progressing, or when the remaining gum is too thin to hold.

Gum Grafting

A dental surgeon in a treatment room at the clinic, arms folded

When the gum recedes

The root becomes exposed, and does not cover itself again.

Gum recession exposes the root, which has no enamel: it becomes sensitive to cold, decays more easily, and the tooth looks longer. Once gum has receded, it does not grow back on its own.

A graft brings in tissue — usually taken from the palate — to cover the root and thicken the gum at that point. It is done under local anaesthetic.

A dental surgeon in a white coat, arms folded, in a bright room

Treating the cause first

Brushing too hard, gum disease, or a badly positioned tooth.

A graft placed without establishing why the gum receded will recede in turn. The three usual causes are hard horizontal brushing, active gum disease, and a tooth sitting too far outside the bone.

The first is corrected by changing technique and brush, which costs a conversation. The other two need treating before grafting. That is the part of the consultation that really decides the outcome.

Learn more about periodontal treatment

A treatment room at Estoria clinic, with the chair and the operating lamp

Afterwards

It is the donor site that bothers you, not the graft.

The grafted area is protected and gives little trouble. It is the palate, where the tissue was taken, that reminds the patient it is there for a week: the sensation is like the burn from a too-hot drink.

While it heals the grafted area is not brushed — a mouthwash replaces brushing for as long as instructed — and you avoid pulling the lip out to look, which is the most common way of lifting a graft.

Gum Grafting — Frequently Asked Questions

Is recovery long?: The main discomfort lasts about a week and comes from the palate rather than the grafted area. Full tissue maturation, on the other hand, takes several weeks, during which the appearance keeps changing.
Will the graft show?: Once healed it blends with the neighbouring gum, though a slight difference in shade or thickness can remain depending on the type of graft and the area.
Can a graft be avoided?: When recession is slight and its cause corrected, often yes: it is monitored rather than operated on. A graft becomes necessary when the root turns very sensitive, when the recession is progressing, or when the remaining gum is too thin to hold.