Gum graft gone wrong...

[CMSC]

What is the name of your state? Nebraska, dentist is in Colorado



I recently went to my family dentist and he looked at a gum graft that my periodontist did and said, "That is the crappiest job I have ever seen, you need to have it redone"! Well having it redone at my expense is NOT an option! We paid out of pocket $1200+ and the insurance paid more than that also.

I had a feeling this was going to go wrong when at my last appointment the periodontist said, "I need to recut your gums because I sewed them too close to the bottom of your lip and your graft is pulling away from your teeth". He re-cut my gums and re-sewed them but the graft just is not adhereing to the teeth like it should be.

I want to know what my options are? Is it possible to get my money back or to get reimbursed to have another periodontist redo my graft? I just am not sure if since we have paid for most of the graft if that is like accepting the service and I would have no recourse. THe only amount standing unpaid right now is $452 because it is in dispute with insurance.

[CMSC]

bump

[ellencee]

CMSC
I don't know the answer to the question that you asked. I know that gum/graft surgery is still considered 'new' even though some forms of the procedure have been done for years. I know that the overall health of the mouth is an important factor and that peridontal disease which has eroded the gum tissue from the dental root(s) area is also a factor. Not everyone has successful results from the procedure. Some people require more than one procedure and more than one graft. Some sites require up to a year before the gum tissue has sufficiently grown over the root area.

There's not much distance between the gum tissue over the dental roots and the place where the lower lip is connected to the 'gum'.

I can't tell from your post if your graft was over the lower teeth or the top teeth.

My suggestion would be to go back to the periodontist who performed the procedure and ask what results he expects to see once the area has healed. It is possible that even though the site appears to be a mess, once everything has healed and the graft is producing new growth, the new growth will make everything OK and no further treatment will be necessary.

As a nurse, I believe it would be beneficial to let the tissue heal and let the graft do its work. Then, if the results are still unsatisfactory, at least there will be a new bed of healthy tissue on which to work.

Somewhere on the net is a site similar to this one, but the questions are anwered by dentists of various specialties. I ran across it a while back. If I remember correctly, the dentists accept photos (via email) of conditions of the mouth. Maybe you can find the site by searching for free dental advice and get a better answer.

Good luck!
EC

[CMSC]

Ellencee just to answer a couple of questions, the graft is on my lower two front teeth. I take excellent care of my teeth so periodontal (which btw was INHERITED ugh!) disease is not an issue.

The graft is healed, but my dentist said it looked terrible so that is what I am going on. I will not go back to this periodontist...I may seek a new one, but not after this guy sewed my graft too close to my lip and had to tear it apart and redo it.

Oh this was done in October of 2003.

[ellencee]

CMSC
I still suggest giving it a while before you attempt to do anything else. The graft has got to have time to 'take' and to grow sufficient new tissue. It is possible that by the time the graft has done it's thing, the results will be totally satisfying. If it does the job but leaves more of a scar than usual, who is going to see it?

There isn't much tissue depth in the location of the graft. I just can't say it enough--give it some time to heal before you do anything else unless it is interfering with normal function.

As soon as my 'dental' person is available, I'll ask about your situation and if there is any addition info that can be of assistance to you, I'll post it.

EC