Hi! I’m a female in my early 20’s, have never had a cavity, never missed a cleaning, and take decent care of my teeth. I’ve been going to the same dentist my whole life, he took out my wisdom teeth, my brother’s wisdom teeth, my parents are his patients as well. I’ve always had semi-sensitive teeth, but I’m never in any pain. Sometimes when they clean by the roots, it’s uncomfortable, but that’s it. 6 months ago (my previous cleaning) my dentist told me that I grind my teeth and I should consider a mouth guard, because I was shaving some teeth down, and that it would cause my gums to recede over the years. There was no rush, though, he was casual about it. Fast forward to my cleaning a couple days ago (6 months later), and he randomly dropped the bomb that I need a connective tissue graft for 2 sections on my bottom teeth in the next 6 months, tops. He said I had 0% gum tissue left and that irreparable damage will be done if I don’t get it. I started asking questions and got a strange vibe, he was very cavalier about it. I understand that for him, it’s a fairly simple surgery, but to me, it’s a $3,000 (this includes the mouth guard, we don’t have dental insurance) procedure that came out of the blue. How could my gums get so bad, at such a young age, and go unnoticed? Or in a 6 month period? It did not seem like an emergency back in December. I don’t know if he’s scamming me, but I feel like something is off here and would love some feedback before scheduling the surgery. Should I get a second opionion? Or is this normal? If I need it then I will do it, but it’s just weird to me how this is suddenly a situation, when gum recession is typically gradual. Thank you!
Connective Tissue Graft?
- Thread starter Sophie18
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