My experience with Emdogain

 

Hola mi amigos!

Happy Thursday and welcome back to the blog.

I hope everyone is well.

I wanted to chat today about my recent Emdogain surgery.

They call it surgery, but I guess it's really a procedure, as it's done under local anaesthetic, they just numbed the area of the gum and it was done at my dentist practice.

Either way it wasn't a pleasant thing to go though. My sympathy goes out to you if you're having this done or anything to do with your teeth for that matter. 

I think since I had braces about 5 or 6 years ago my pain threshold for the dentist has completely gone down to zero. I never used to mind going to the dentist, but recently I dread it. It's probably because I'm getting older and things are sadly starting to go wrong. It just feels like every time you go they suggest something else that will need attention.

Anyway, with that aside let me tell you a little bit about Emdogain. Well how I understand it anyway and what I've been through with it.

My gum beside my front tooth has started to disappear. Recede if you like. Crumbs, that sounds awful doesn't it! The dentist called it bone loss, but it is basically the gum receding.

There doesn't seem to be any real reason for this, she didn't really say what had caused it, it must just be one of those things, the joys of getting older hey.

But, there is hope. That's where Emdogain comes in. It's a technology from Sweden. It's basically a gel that regenerates the gum. Magic! Get that on my gum asap!

But, first they had to deep clean the area. Which also required a local anaesthetic. Obviously the area is numbed so you don't feel it, but it was sore afterwards. Not for long, just that day, but you could really see the gum had been exposed more.

A couple of weeks later I had the Emdogain surgery.

Again the area was numbed, which in a way I think that was the worst bit. I hate needles and it's such a bizarre feeling isn't it. You can feel it going numb. The procedure certainly wasn't a pleasant experience either. I didn't feel anything, but you are well aware that not nice stuff is going on and you are being pulled around a bit.

If you're squeamish just skip this next part! 

They cut a flap in my gum, which they then cleaned and removed any dead tissue. The Emdogain gel is then applied. They then stitch the flap back up. The first few days are the most crucial where the gel is attaching itself and can take up to six months for the gum to regenerate.

Just as I got home the anaesthetic started to wear off and I was hit with pain. Soon as I got in I had a 600mg Ibuprofen which was prescribed to me by the Dentist. It was pretty good and when it kicked in it did help the pain. 

I was also prescribed a spray to use twice daily on the area also.  In the notes to follow it also said to use an antiseptic mouthwash throughout the day. I did treat myself, or my mouth rather to one designed for Peridontal problems. I wanted to give my gums the best chance of healing.

The day of the surgery for me probably was the worse. I was in pain and I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything hot or warm for the rest of the day. It wasn't a huge problem as I couldn't physically eat anything anyway as I had ten stitches in my mouth and I felt pretty sore and swollen. I don't think it was actually swollen much, it just felt like it. That first day all I managed was ice-cream.

I remember the next day around lunchtime, I left it 24 hours before I had anything warm. The first thing I had was a cup of tea, which I left it to pretty much go cold and it was so good. I love tea so much and to go over 24 hours without one was a real test haha.

As the days went on it did get easier to eat, a little bit day by day. For about ten days I did find it difficult to eat with anything other then a teaspoon. My mouth was delicate and I was obviously conscious of that area. Anything I could manage took me so long to eat. 

For those first couple of weeks I literally lived off mash potato with gravy, natural yogurts, ice-cream and chicken or mushroom soup. I also had to keep anything I did eat pretty bland as I couldn't have anything too citrussy, acidic or spicy.

Some of the stitches dissolved and after about two weeks or so I had a check up where they removed the final stitches and gave me the green light to eat normally again, but just brush gently where the gum had been operated on. 

I also hadn't been able to clean my teeth in that area for that whole time. My teeth had started to look pretty grungy so it's been so nice to be able to brush them again regularly.

Once the stitches were out I felt pretty much back to normal, everything did feel a little delicate for a few more days. Now I'm over a month since the surgery and I'm eating and drinking completely normally. I'm back using my retainer at night, but I am still avoiding anything too chewy or hard. I just don't want any unnecessary problems or issues.

If you are about to have Emdogain surgery I'd advise to get any prescription bought and ready in advance. My Dentist told me to do this and it was actually so handy to have everything I needed ready at home as it's definitely not something you want to traipse around to get after the surgery.

I wasn't prepared enough with what foods I had in. So if I had to do it again I'd make sure I would have lot's of chicken soup, mushroom soup, any that you like really, but not tomato as that's acidic and they say to avoids tomatoes or tomato based food for the first couple of weeks. Mash potato and gravy was my literal lifesaver. So I'd make sure I'd have lot's of potatoes in. Also stock up on plainish yogurts. For me I had natural yogurt. I had some sweetened ones too just to make it feel like I was having something different. Stock up on lot's of ice-cream too. I also had pots of natilla, which is custard, cold custard and it is actually really nice. It's now something I buy in my weekly grocery shop. 

Again avoid strawberry yogurts and anything acidic, so sticking to natural and greek yogurts is best.

If you know someone who is having Emdogain surgery, they probably won't feel their best for a couple of weeks. So be patient with them and offer hugs when you can. I was in desperate need of hugs and just someone to ask 'are you ok?' 'can I get you anything' that goes a long way trust me. 

So that's it for now, it's just a waiting game to see if the gum starts to regenerate. It cost 720 euros including the deep clean so fingers crossed it works!

So far I still have a gap in my gum, so if you see any photos or videos of me on social media that is why! Please be kind and ignore the gap!

♥ Heather