Gum Surgery: When Sports Shear Gum Tissue Away From Your Teeth

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You take pride in the fact that you are physically fit and you pursue sports to stay healthy and strong. Yet, there have been some close calls, especially to your face and head. Maybe you are a boxer, a hockey player or a skateboarder. Whatever sport you play, you should be doing all you can to protect your teeth and gums. If you are not wearing a mouth guard all of the time, you could end up in emergency oral surgery. Gum surgery restores your mouth in the following ways.

Stitching Gum Tissues Back Into Place

Gingiva, or gum tissue, is a tough, durable tissue dedicated to holding your teeth in place. Without it, you would not only look quite odd, but your teeth would constantly fall out. It is similar to denture adhesive and dentures. When the bonding and holding element is not there, neither are your teeth. Hitting your gums with enough blunt force trauma to tear them from one area of your mouth to another puts your teeth in a very dangerous position (if they were not pulled from their roots and sockets already). Your dentist or maxillofacial surgeon will have to carefully replace what teeth you salvaged and sew your damaged gums up quickly to heal.

Speaking Clearly without a Mouth Full of Blood

As gory as it sounds, shearing gum tissue away causes your mouth to bleed excessively. After all, your gum tissue feeds blood and nutrients to your teeth via their roots and oral blood vessel system. Such an injury is not for the faint of heart, because it is still a head wound and head wounds bleed heavily. In order for you to return to a healthy mouth and normal speech patterns, you will have to have immediate gum surgery. (It is that, or spend several days with ice packs on your face, loose gum tissue dangling in your mouth, and swallowing more blood than a vampire draining a body!)

Chewing without Discomfort

In spite of all of the germs and bacteria the human mouth has, it does a very good job at healing with minimal infection. After your dental/oral surgeon patches you back up, you will have to eat soft foods for several days until the gum tissue begins to heal and there is no longer a risk of losing your teeth. Lots of pain medication and several ice packs later to reduce facial swelling you can begin to eat slightly more solid foods with less discomfort.

As You Recuperate from Gum Surgery

Stay away from your more violent sports. You were given a soft diet after surgery because it will not tear the stitches open, and if harder foods could tear your stitches, consider what blows to your face could do. You can still exercise, train at a gym, go for a walk or swim, etc., but leave the rougher sports alone until your surgeon, such as someone from Periodontal Specialists, gives you the okay.


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