Metal Mouth Message Board

Perhaps I should be posting this in the regular braces forum...

I have been in braces for 6 months and I already notice some gingival overgrowth, even though I think I maintain proper hygiene. I am having surgery next week and can only assume it will be worse due to lack of hygiene during recovery. Then I still have another 6 months more of braces...

So I was wondering, will the overgrowth resolved itself once my braces are off? Or will I likely need a gum lift when all is said and done.

Please share you experiences on this topic!

Obviously I can't say what will happen for you or not, I can only say what happened to me.

I had REALLY bad gingival overgrowth pre-surgery, however, it rectified itself after my operation since my gums weren't exposed all the time (I couldn't shut my lips to cover them before, and the braces just made that worse). Within a month of surgery it was much much better than before, and things are looking pretty good now (I only got my braces off on Tuesday). I've still got a bit of gum stuck between my teeth, from where I had gaps pre-orthodontics, which I might get tidied up at some point, but the overgrowth is almost completely gone.

sarahorsomeone wrote:Obviously I can't say what will happen for you or not, I can only say what happened to me.

I had REALLY bad gingival overgrowth pre-surgery, however, it rectified itself after my operation since my gums weren't exposed all the time (I couldn't shut my lips to cover them before, and the braces just made that worse). Within a month of surgery it was much much better than before, and things are looking pretty good now (I only got my braces off on Tuesday). I've still got a bit of gum stuck between my teeth, from where I had gaps pre-orthodontics, which I might get tidied up at some point, but the overgrowth is almost completely gone.

Thank you, sarahorsomeone. I realize each case is different but just wanted to know if it may resolve or whether crown lengthening will be my only option. It sounds like I have a good chance of it resolving. I never had problems before and am just noticing it now because my teeth look smaller. They are already small to begin with so I want to avoid overgrowth as much as possible. I will be flossing away like crazy until my surgery next week, making sure everything is as pristine as possible in there. It scares me that it will be a while before I will be able to properly clean post-surgery.