Dental gum surgery? Anyone have experience?

[mickey65]

My crown fell off today and Iwent to the dentist to see if he could put it back on. Well it turns out the tooth that was left under the crown was badly decayed. So he cleaned that up. Now it is down pretty far and he says in order to put a new crown on (which he said he can still do) I have to see the gum guy, that will do some kind of gum/oral surgery to pull the gums back and lower the bone??? This procedure sounds pretty scary to me

Does anyone have expereince with gum surgery? Does it hurt? How long does it take? What should I ask the gum guy when I go for the consultation? Any help wouild be greatly appreciated. I did do some research, but personal expereince is always better!

 

[Disneygal]

I don't know if this will help, not being exactly the same thing, but this is my personal experience.
A few years ago I bit into a shrimp and part of the end shell went down in-between two teeth, deep into the gum. It also tore gum tissue away from my tooth on the way down.
Being too far in, the dentist made an incision into the gum from the front (didn't hurt), pulled out the piece of shell, re-attached the gum tissue to my tooth somehow and put a couple of dissolving stiches there (didn't hurt).
Then covered it up with a dental band-aid. It looked like bubble gum stuck on my gum.
No pain, no problems. I got a couple of days of pain medicine and a mouthwash to use, to kill germs, for a few days.
About a week later, good as new!
I'm sure things will go well for you!

 

[RNMOM]

Mickey,

I am in the process of getting my second dental implant done. That is a pretty big dental surgery. I had the option of having the surgery you are talking about but my dentist said the implant had better chace of lasting and taking. I finished one and then broke off another crown on the other side and had to get a second one.

I had each of the teeth surgically removed in the office and the gum was stiched. The first one did fabulously and the second I ended up with a dry socket. Even that was not too bad but had to travel to oral surgeons daily for 9 days to have it packed. I just had to post implanted and will be able to get the crown in 3-4 months. Not bad and usually only 1-2 days on pain killers. You just can't chew on that side until they tell you.

My word of advice is to do some research on the proceedure your dentist recommends and compare it to an implant. The cost was close and the longevity of the crown lengthening (I think that was what they called it) was not very promising.

I would also recommended going to an oral surgeon or endodontist who specialize only in that type of surgery. A lot of dentists can/do these types of things but if you want good results, hunt out the best.

 

[sgtdisney]

I had something like this a couple of months ago. I had a root canal and put off having it crowned. (Trying to put off the cost, it cost more in the long run.) So, I sat here, at this desk, reading DIS and eating a pretzel. CRACK, the tooth with the root canal broke, right in half.

I went into the dentist and he gave me three options. Crown lengthening, an implant or a bridge. I decided on the crown lenghthing. He did the crown lengthening right then and there. It wasn't all that bad. I mean it wasn't fun, but they desensitized the gum pretty good and performed the oral surgery. Honestly, it was easier than the root canal, in my opinion. He stitched it up and I had to go back after it healed, which took a few weeks. The made a post of the remaining tooth and I just had my crown put on a few weeks ago. It sounds like in your case that they have to lower the bone along with the gum so that might not be exactly the same thing I had done. In my case though, it sounded much worse than it actually ended up being.

 

[Nutsy]

Gosh & here was I thinking getting crowns was the end of dentists

My dentist wants me to get crowns & I was almost convinced until I read this thread

Now I don't know what I wnat to do.................

This all sounds so horrid & I hate dentists at the best of times

 

[mickey65]

Thank-you for sharing your experience and advice!

Disneygal......was it the regular dentist that did the gum cutting? Did you need antibiotics too?


RNMOM........my dentist told me the options too and asked me to discuss it w ith the oral surgeon. He told me that if I got another crown that it would still likely have to be replaced twice more in my lifetime! I am thinking that an implant or bridge might be a better idea, but I am not sure yet. My insurence will cover most of the gum work and 50% if I get a crown. I amnot sure how much they cover for implants. Do you feel a difference with the implant? can you still chew and everything? When you were having the oral surgery were you able to eat much after (not right after, but in the next few days?) Also, what is a dry socket? It sounds painful


stgdisney.....that sounds like what I am having too (maybe) I hate the thought of it, and I think the anxiety is worse than the actual procedure will be.

Nutsy.....I know just how you feel!

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by mickey65
Thank-you for sharing your experience and advice!

stgdisney.....that sounds like what I am having too (maybe) I hate the thought of it, and I think the anxiety is worse than the actual procedure will be.

I think you are right, and in this aspect I was lucky. I went into the office and they told me what was wrong and that I would need to come back in a week for the surgery. The office is in a mall, so I decided to walk to the Disney Store for a few mins and they called me on my cell phone and asked how far away I was because they had a cancellation. I told them I was really close.. I went in and had it done right away.

Really I felt nothing when they cut the gum down. After the surgery I only needed ibuprofen. They put in stitches that had to be removed but that didn't hurt either. In my situation, while the dentist said the implant was the best, it was also about 1000 more than what I chose to have done. That fact coupled with his saying that they screwed a metal post into your jaw scared me.

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by Nutsy
Gosh & here was I thinking getting crowns was the end of dentists

My dentist wants me to get crowns & I was almost convinced until I read this thread

Now I don't know what I wnat to do.................

This all sounds so horrid & I hate dentists at the best of times

Don't let this thread scare you away. I have put off going to the dentist a couple times and it ended up in 2 root canals. Had I gone right away I probably could have gotten away with fillings. Part of it was fear, part of it was wanting to spare the expense. With my problem with the crown lengthening, it was again my fault. I had a root canal last fall and the Dentist recommended a crown right away. I put it off because I wanted to spend the money else where and thats when this tooth broke. You would think I would have known better after 4 root canals and three crowns. I still have one tooth that needs to be crowned, in fact it is the tooth I had crowned first but it is a molar and they said that one will be okay for a bit longer.

I know how you feel about dentists though, every time I go lately it costs a fortune....

 

[mum4jenn]

My dh had the gum surgery several years ago!! He said he would NEVER EVER do it again!!!!

Now keep in mind that he used to be a heavy smoker and I realize that smoking played a huge part in the condition of his gums but he has ugly teeth now. The gums never went back to their original position as in before the surgery.The gums are much more receded than before. His teeth now have space between them along with a huge gap between the front two teeth. He was in a bunch of pain also but then again he is a wimp when it comes to pain.


Edited to add:

I think what I wrote about and what you are needing are two different procedures. My dh had total peridontal surgery.(His whole mouth was done. I think there were over 100 stitches)

 

[Nutsy]

sgtdisney........... I 've had one root canal done & yes I left it too long to go see the dentist, so paid the price in that respect, but.........the day after the root canal treatment began the tooth shattered I went back & told the denist & all she did was patch it up with a resin & continue with the root canal.

She has been at me for ages to get it crowned, but it's going to cost a fortune & now she says she want to crown all my double teeth.............

I don't have that kind of money & as much as it may well be a good idea, I don't know if I can go through with it. I hit the panic button when I have to go to the dentist