Gum is not growing over a tooth implant. Any suggestions?

Question

The implant was placed on the same day as a tooth extraction, on March 30 2016. There is no infection or other abnormalities but the gum is not filling the site and it is still sensitive to cold. I've seen the dentists a few times with this concern, but it looks like he does not know what to do about my gum not growing back. He just replaced a healing cap with a larger one. Are there any treatments to speed up the gum growing?

Juan Fernando Uribe, DDS · Answer

Gum tissue usually takes about a month to recover after surgery. This obviously varies from case to case, but if you are not seing an improvement in your gum tissue after a month, I would definitely do a couple things to help your gum recover. First I would replace the healing cap for a SMALLER one, not a larger one. It is hard to make a judgement without knowing your specific case, but in general I would like to give the gum more space to mature and recover. The most important thing however is to do a connective tissue graft, using tissue from your own gum to help cover the site. This is called Peri-Implant Plastic Surgery. Since it has been 3 moths after surgery, with no gum recovery so far, I think this is the right treatment for you.

Gum is not growing over a tooth implant. Any suggestions?

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