Membrane Visible after Surgery
 

Hello! I am glad to have found this website. Last Friday (one week ago) I had an extraction of an adult baby tooth (#4), a bone graft, sinus lift, and implant performed. The surgery went very smoothly. I had practically no swelling, pain or discomfort; I didn't even need the prescribed ibuprofen past two days!

Today, I noticed the gum area around the surgical site turning white and feeling puffy. I called the office that performed my surgery. While my surgeon is out today, his associate saw me right away.

He confirmed I am seeing the membrane, but told me this is nothing to worry about. He was quite calm and reassured me this should resolve in 1-2 weeks. He also told me to keep my follow-up scheduled for Monday.

Me being the absolute nervous nelly I am (especially as someone who's never had surgery in my 30 years of life) I continue to be paranoid about this membrane being visible. Is this truly a cause for concern, or should I remain calm?

There's no additional pain, bad taste/smells, puss, etc. He even said the surgical site is healing nicely.

Thank you!!

Hi RJS

Glad your surgery went well!

The membrane? Are you referring to the white area on the gum above your central, lateral and incisor teeth? That looks to be sloughing of some tissue. Very gentle use of your toothbrush or a washcloth over that area may remove it.

Your lips looked chapped, how much water are you drinking?

Are you rinsing with warm salt water?

Bryanna

Thank you for such a quick response. The white area is indeed what I am talking about. It is quite possible I misunderstood the surgeon as I was feeling quite panicked while in the chair (normally I'm diligent about asking follow-up questions). He did mention something similar to what you said and explained a little bit about the biology of the skin as it scabs, heals, and changes color throughout the process.

I'm glad you asked about the water intake; this is an area of personal health I've been trying to improve upon. I most definitely need to work on upping my water intake throughout the day!

I was prescribed chlorhexidine, which I am using and I also rinse with warm salt water after meals/throughout the day. I was also on Cefdinir as a precautionary measure against sinus infection (they chose Cefdinir as my body responded well to it while treating a sinus infection in the past).

It might just be my wishful thinking, but it almost appears as if a tad of white patch has slightly decreased in size since this morning!

This is my first time undergoing any surgery. I was quite pleased that my surgeon felt confident that placing the implant at the same time as the lift would lead to success. I believe I had 8.44mm of bone and he desired at least 10mm for implant placement. A family member had to have an implant removed (performed by a different surgeon) and I've, of course, done the worst thing any patient can do: Google their symptoms/questions.

Hi RJS,

You're welcome and thanks for clarifying some things.

The white area on the gum above your central, lateral and incisor is a change in tissue cells, it is not a scab, it is an irritation likely caused by a reaction to the chemicals in chlorhexidine. This type of irritation is commonly seen in patients who rinse with that because the chemical structure of chlorhexidine is quite harsh. It also kills both the good and bad bacteria leaving the oral tissue vulnerable and irritated.

Your immune system automatically knows to produce cells to help heal the wounds, the chlorhexidine interrupts that natural process. I personally prefer to let my immune system do it's job and would not use the chemical.
I would just use warm salted water 4 times a day, and even do a baking soda and warm water rinse once a day and be sure to maintain thorough oral hygiene with brushing and flossing.

Increasing your water intake will benefit you in countless ways and also help with the wound healing process. For optimum health, it is beneficial to drink enough water to equal half of your body weight in ounces.
Example: 100 lbs of body weight= 50 oz of water to be consumed daily.
Never drink that much all at one time... instead drink several times throughout the day so the total daily sum of water equals that 50 oz.

Another thing that is beneficial to your immune system and will help with the healing is taking a probiotic. Especially since you had been on an antibiotic- taking a probiotic will help restore some of the good gut bacteria that was killed from the antibiotic. A probiotic that most people do really well with is called Culturelle and it is readily available in most food and drug stores.

Hope this info helps you!
Bryanna