Hi all,

I had my upper left incisor surgically extracted 5 days ago to prepare for an implant.
As it was a surgical extraction a flap was cut in my gums which seems to have started at the gum line on my two adjacent teeth. The issue is, I seem to have lost some gum here on both teeth where the incisions were made and am worried I'm never going to get it back.

I left my dentist a message and he said he can try to 'manage' the gums when he places the implant and crown later, but I have read that gums on the gum line never grow back. Is this true, or will the gum that was lost during surgery on the gum line grow back on these adjacent teeth?

Any advice is appreciated!

Hi luke,

It is common for the gum tissue on the adjacent teeth to shrink up a bit, recede, along the gum line after an incisor is extracted. The tissue will not grow back but by the time the site heals, the overall recession may be minimal. It is too early to tell at this stage of healing.

The dentist will try to fabricate the dental implant crown so that the gum line portion of that crown is in line with the recession on the adjacent teeth. This will minimize the appearance of the recession.

Try not to worry too much about this as the gum tissue has a ways to heal yet and it will look different when it is all healed.

Ok, thanks.

So you think I will lose some of my gum line each time I have surgery but the important thing is that it matches up?
Bit sad that I will have to lose any at all but I guess if its gotta be done its gotta be done!

Luke92,

Generally when a dental implant is placed, the pre surgical preparation to place an upper implant only requires and incision along the bottom flat portion of the gum. Then that incision is gently spread open and gently peeled back just a a bit from the bone for visibility and access of the implant drill. Generally there is no other major incisions to flap back the other areas of the gum tissue as you had done to extract that tooth. So the recession along the gum line of the adjacent teeth should not change once those areas are healed from the tooth extraction. You may or may not have some recession occur around the neck or abutment of the implant. It just depends on the surgery and how your body responds to it.

The esthetic goal is to make the margins of the gum line look esthetically natural so as to not be able to tell the implant crown from you natural teeth.

I hope I have explained that okay. If not, let me know.

Ok, brilliant, thank you. Sounds like I won't need my gum line cut open again on those two teeth
Could I send a picture of the adjacent teeth to get your opinion on how they should heal? My dentist said he will 'manage' my gums when he places the implant but I was under the impression that once gum is lost from the tooth (as with my gum line) - you cannot get it back without a graft?

I Luke,

You can attach a picture here if you want to. But I cannot tell you how the gum line tissue is going to heal as that depends on the formation of collagen tissue growth, anatomy and immune system.

Ask your dentist what he specifically meant by "manage" the gums and if he intends on doing gum modification when he places the implant or if he intends on "managing" the gum line with the fit of the implant crown.