Located in the heart of Lyon 3rd district, close to the Part-Dieu shopping center and train station, Dr. Hervé Touati’s dental practice has been helping patients to regain their comfort, health and smile for over 20 years.
We also perform gum grafts in cases of gum retraction.
Here we explain the causes of this mechanical phenomenon, as well as the follow-up and intervention procedures at our dental practice in Lyon.
Gingival retraction is a mechanical phenomenon, most often caused by trauma to the gums:
Brushing your teeth too aggressively with a hard-bristled brush. This trauma will irritate the gums, causing them to recede.
Orthodontic treatment: braces can move teeth to the outside of the jaw. As a result, teeth can move out of their bony groove, causing gingival dehiscence.
Tongue or lip piercings: these can cause trauma to the tissues and teeth around the attachment.
Lip brakes: the mouth is made up of several lip brakes, which attach the lips and tongue to the jawbones. These can create excess tension in the gums. A frenectomy is then combined with a gum graft.
If we consider gum retraction and its causes, we’re talking about a completely different problem from tooth loosening caused by periodontitis. The latter is a gum disease caused by bacterial superinfection, which can lead to destruction of the alveolar bone and tooth loss if not stabilized. Although less serious, retraction can still be a source of discomfort: the unsightly stripping of the roots can cause discomfort. Teeth appear longer, and the root, which is a different color from the tooth, becomes visible. There is often increased sensitivity to cold, and a greater risk of developing cavities as the tooth is more exposed. As brushing the exposed root is more painful, this can lead to less effective cleaning of the tooth surface, and thus to a build-up of plaque, a source of inflammation and bleeding gums.
Gingival retraction or recession can usually be treated with a gum graft. As experienced dental surgeons, Studio Dentaire’s 3 practitioners can perform this procedure in the operating room of our practice. At the 1st appointment, you will be given a health questionnaire and an oral and dental check-up to verify the feasibility of the operation. In fact, there are a few rare relative contraindications:
If conditions allow, we can then schedule the procedure at the surgery.
To treat gum recession, we perform gingival grafting under local anaesthetic in one of the 3 operating theatres at our Lyon-based practice.
The operation consists of 3 stages:
1.
Preparing the gum: your dentist gently lifts the gum to install the graft.
2.
Graft harvesting (usually from the palate) if autogenous grafting is possible.
3.
Graft placement. Stitches are placed to stabilize the graft. They will be removed a few days later.
We will carry out a follow-up check at the surgery to ensure that the graft has set and to remove the stitches.
This procedure is not covered by Social Security. If necessary, our care coordinator can propose a personalized payment schedule.
We can be contacted Monday to Friday from 9.15am to 6pm on 04 78 62 84 08 to book an appointment.
