How Painful is a Free Gingival Graft Procedure?
Free Gingival Graft and Pain
A free gingival graft (FGG) procedure includes a surgical procedure. Patients who are undergoing an FGG are often curious if the procedure is painful. The surgical procedure itself should not hurt. If needed, the surgeon will use sedation to ensure patients sleep throughout the procedure and remain comfortable. If sedation is not being used, the surgeon will use a local anesthetic prior to the procedure to numb the area. This ensures patients do not feel anything throughout the duration of the procedure.
Types of Gum Grafting
When discussing pain related to gum grafting, there is typically a discussion of pain following the procedure. The level of pain a patient experiences from gum grafting can drastically vary based on the type of gum grafting procedure being used. Patients may experience pain from the graft donor site which is typically removed from the roof of the mouth. In addition, there can be pain at the graft recipient site or areas where the graft is being placed. The various types of gum grafting procedures and the associated pain are summarized below:
- Free gingival graft: this procedure is considered to be more painful than others. When evaluating pain on a 1-10 scale, many patients rank this procedure at about a six or seven. This procedure typically causes more pain because the donor tissue is harvested from the roof of the patient’s own mouth. This results in the exposure of underlying gum tissues and causes significant pain.
- Connective tissue grafting: this procedure results in significantly less pain compared to a free gingival graft. Patients typically rank their pain at a one or two on a 1-10 scale. This procedure is less painful because the surgeon collects the tissue from the middle layer from the roof of the mouth. Once the tissue is harvested, the site is sutured closed. This prevents exposure of the surface layer of tissue.
- Gum graft donor tissue (alloderm) or pinhole procedure: the alloderm or pinhole procedures result in little to no noticeable pain. These procedures use gum graft donor tissue which is not harvested from the patient’s own mouth.
Discomfort
Pain associated with gum grafting is typically isolated to the roof of the mouth. The use of gum graft donor tissue helps avoid the pain. While a majority of pain is on the roof of the mouth, patients may also experience some pain at the grafting site or area which is being treated. Additional information regarding the pain associated with each procedure is summarized below:
- Free gingival graft - the recipient site will hurt more than when connective tissue grafting, alloderm, or pinhole procedures. This is because there is a different incision design with this procedure.
- Connective tissue grafting and alloderm or pinhole procedure – these procedures all result in minimal pain at the graft recipient site. A minimally invasive technique is used to avoid the use of an incision at the graft recipient site.
Conclusion
Most of the pain associated with a free gingival graft comes following the procedure during the patient’s recovery. Patients who undergo a free gingival graft typically experience the highest level of pain. The majority of the pain is isolated to the roof of the mouth, but there can also be pain around the teeth which are receiving grafting. The connective tissue graft procedure causes minimal levels of pain on the roof of the mouth and virtually no pain from the grafting recipient area. The use of gum graft donor tissue or a pinhole technique ensures minimal discomfort during a gum graft procedure. Patients should experience limited to no pain during the actual surgery.
Contact the office today to schedule an appointment with the team to discuss how a free gingival graft procedure may help improve your oral health.
