What Goes Into A Gum Graft?

It is important to get treatment if you suffer from gum disease. The best way to prevent any serious problems with gum disease is by treating it in the early stages.

The longer the disease goes without treatment, the harder it is to treat. One type of treatment for a serious problem with gum disease is gum grafts. Until you have to have this procedure, you may not know what it is.

What Do Gum Grafts Do?


As gum disease progresses, it exposes more of the teeth. It can continue to expose not only the teeth, but the roots of the teeth. This can lead to gaps and pockets between the teeth and the gums. Bacteria can grow in these pockets. It is difficult to reach the bacteria that grow in these pockets through brushing and flossing. That can cause plaque and tartar to form and can lead to gum disease.

Gum grafts can cover the areas exposed. They can take away the areas where bacteria can grow and can stop the spread of the gum disease. In combination with other treatments, they can begin to restore the health of the gums.

How They Work
There are a few different types of gum grafts. They all involve the use of tissue to cover, but differ in where they get the tissue from.

  • Connective tissue graft – Subepithelial connective tissue is taken from under a flap cut in the roof of the mouth.
  • Free gingival grafts – This involves taking tissue from the roof of the mouth without cutting a flap.
  • Pedicle grafts – The tissue from this type of graft comes from around the tooth needing repair.
  • Allograft -Tissue for this type of graft comes from donated human tissue.


In all these types of graphs, once the tissue is procured, the next step is to stitch it into place. The stitches will either dissolve on their own or removed after a few days.

The grafts replace gum tissue that was lost and can help stop gum disease from progressing further. It also provides healthy tissue that will generate more healthy gum tissue over time with proper oral hygiene habits.

Contact our offices for more information about this or any other dental question you have.