TV Host, 55, Reveals Common Habit That Led to ‘Painful’ Gum Surgery

John Shearer / WireImage Kelly Ripa, 55, discovered that even the best routines can backfire after a common hygiene habit led the television host to need oral surgery.

“I brush my teeth too much.

It’s a good-bad habit,” Ripa said during Tuesday’s episode of the Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast, which she recorded before her surgery.

The television personality admitted that she is an “over-brusher” to the episode’s guest star, Survival of the Thickest actress and creator Michelle Buteau.

In July, Ripa took time off from Live with Kelly and Mark , which she hosts with her husband, Mark Consuelos, who revealed at the time that his wife was undergoing gum surgery.

A gum graft is a type of dental surgery that treats gum recession, a condition in which the gums “pull away from your teeth and expose the roots underneath,” according to the Cleveland Clinic .

The condition increases the risk of symptoms like tooth decay, sensitivity, and bone loss around the teeth.

The procedure involves taking healthy tissue, usually from the roof of the mouth, and using it to replace the lost tissue around the teeth.

Ripa explained it simply: “They have gotta re-gum my gums.” Buteau said the surgery “sounds painful.” “It is,” Ripa confirmed, noting that she would not be “allowed to talk for 10 days” after undergoing the gum graft procedure.

While there’s a long list of restrictions before and after the surgery, she was most concerned about the no-talking rule, saying, “We’re already managing my stress level for not being able to talk for 10 days.” Other restrictions included eating only soft foods and avoiding straws and flossing.

The Emmy-winning host also confessed she was supposed to do the procedure five years ago but had put it off.

“The doctor was like, ‘Now, you don’t have the luxury of time,’” she explained.

The Live with Kelly and Mark co-host has been absent from the show since July 27.

In the episode, Consuelos, 55, explained her absence, assuring viewers that his wife was “doing great” but that she wasn’t allowed to speak.