Is Gum Contouring Painful?

Some dental procedures have a reputation for being painful, which can make people hesitate before choosing to undergo an elective, cosmetic procedure like gum contouring. This reputation is largely inaccurate in the case of most dental procedures, and it’s certainly inaccurate when it comes to gum contouring. Like many routine dental procedures, gum contouring uses local anesthetic to completely numb the surgical area; in most cases, dentists even use a topical numbing gel to prevent the anesthesia injection itself from causing any pain. Your dentist will wait until the injected anesthetic has time to take effect, assessing the numbness of the surgical site before making any incisions and ensuring that the entirety of the gum contouring procedure is painless. In some cases, dentists use lasers to sculpt the gums, entirely eliminating the need for incisions and further reducing the possibility of pain during and after treatment.

As local anesthetic wears off, it’s normal to feel some tenderness or discomfort where the gums were sculpted, though this is often manageable with over-the-counter pain medicine and cold compresses and shouldn’t last more than a day or two. With more complex or involved gum contouring, discomfort might be more extensive or last slightly longer; again, this is easily managed. If you’ve undergone gum contouring and notice any pain beyond slight discomfort or tenderness, especially if it’s been a few days since your procedure, see your dentist, as this could indicate that there’s an issue with healing.

Dentists recommend using pain-management medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, avoiding the blood-thinning effects of aspirin, which can exacerbate post-surgical bleeding. Dentists also recommend maintaining a particular diet in the days after gum contouring surgery, avoiding hard or crunchy foods that might irritate the gum tissue and sticking with soft, mild, cool foods like applesauce or yogurt. As patients continue to heal, more substantial foods can be introduced into the diet, though spicy, hard, or very hot foods are best excluded until the gums are fully healed, as the irritation these foods can cause might be damaging and painful. Keeping the area clean is key to painless healing, and your dentist will guide you in methods to carefully, gently, yet thoroughly and painlessly clean your gums and teeth without disturbing sutures or delicate tissues as they heal.

Even though gum contouring is a relatively quick, in-office procedure, it’s important to treat it as you would any surgery and make sure to rest following treatment. Strenuous activity, excessive activity, heavy lifting, and other exertion increase blood flow, potentially flooding the surgical area and increasing pain, swelling, and bleeding, all of which will delay healing and make the whole process more uncomfortable. After a few weeks, patients can resume normal activity, including strenuous activity, but it’s imperative to see a dentist if pain or bleeding continues or resumes at this point. It’s also important to contact the dentist if pain worsens at any point following gum contouring or if bleeding persists, as these symptoms could indicate infection or otherwise impede complete recovery.

Closely following your dentist-provided aftercare instructions will help you keep discomfort and pain to a minimum, and resting and caring for your gums will help you heal quickly and completely. Most patients fully recover from gum contouring procedures within a few weeks, with many symptoms subsiding after only a day or two, and you and your dentist will discuss specifics for your gum contouring procedure when you meet for your consultation. Whatever your healing timeline and instructions may be, rest assured that gum contouring isn’t painful and that discomfort after surgery is easily managed with proper care.

Related Article: Is Gum Contouring Right for You?