Gum recession exposes the root of a tooth. Unlike the crown, the root has no enamel, so it is markedly more sensitive and far more vulnerable to decay and abrasion. A soft tissue graft places additional gum tissue over the exposed area to cover the root and rebuild a band of durable, attached gum.
Why recession happens
Common causes include aggressive brushing with a hard brush, periodontal disease, thin gum tissue inherited from birth, tooth position outside the arch, and clenching or grinding. Treating recession without addressing the cause tends to end in recurrence, so your dentist at Parkway Dental will look at your brushing technique and bite as part of planning.
Graft options
A connective tissue graft takes tissue from beneath the surface of your palate and tucks it under the gum at the recession site; it is the most common approach and gives excellent colour match. A free gingival graft takes a surface layer from the palate and is used mainly to widen the band of tough attached gum rather than to cover root. An allograft uses processed donor tissue and avoids a palatal donor site altogether, which many patients prefer because the palate is the main source of post-operative discomfort. A pinhole or tunnel technique can sometimes reposition existing tissue through a small opening.
What to expect
The procedure is performed under local anaesthetic and usually takes sixty to ninety minutes. The recipient site is prepared, the graft is placed and secured with fine sutures, and if tissue was taken from the palate a protective dressing or stent is placed there.
Healing
The grafted site is usually comfortable; where a palatal donor site was used, that area is typically the more tender of the two for the first week and feels much like a pizza burn.
Do not brush the grafted area until cleared — usually several weeks — and use the prescribed antimicrobial rinse instead. Avoid pulling your lip or cheek to look at the site, and keep to soft, cool foods initially. The graft relies on a new blood supply forming in the first days, so disturbing it is the main risk. Sutures come out after one to two weeks, with final tissue maturation over several months.