Slightly OT, looking for gum graft recovery information

[karatz22]

Hello all! I was in braces from January 2017 through June 2019, and I had a Lefort I osteotomy done May 2018. One of the side effects from my braces was the straightening out of a bottom front tooth that had previously been completely sideways. Almost immediately following it finally being straightened (my ortho had issues with it being stubborn) in Novermber 2018, I had pretty severe gum recession on the tooth and light recession on the neighboring tooth. A consult with a periodontist showed I need gum grafts and a lower frenectomy, and now I finally have the appointment for that in 2 weeks (had to wait til after my braces were off to do it, and I pushed it out to 2020 to use my FSA funds as my insurance sucks).

So there's my back story, but what I'm looking for here are others who've had similar experiences. What was your recovery time like? The periodontist's receptionist told me I'd be fine to drive home and okay to go to work the next day. I am a 911 dispatcher and am concerned talking so much on the radio would aggravate the wound and possibly be difficult due to swelling, etc. Any recommendation on how much time I may need to take off? I do have 3 days scheduled off following the procedure but can take more if needed.

Thanks in advance!

[ivorynectar]

You have probably had your gum surgery by now -- but I just saw the post!

How did it go? Did they use the tissue from your palate? Do you know if you had a full thickness graft or a partial? I had one of each, and the recovery was a little bit different for each.

For me, I had a really hard time talking for the first week. Some of that depends on whether your periodontist makes you a 'retainer' to sit on top of your palate and protect it from your tongue. If you have that, it would be much easier to talk and eat.

If you haven't had your grafting surgery yet, feel free to ask questions. It was really hard to find information on it when I was going through mine.