Ripa underwent the surgery in late July, leaving her unable to talk
Credit: Dave Quinn/PEOPLE
NEED TO KNOW
- Kelly Ripa returned to Live with Kelly and Mark on Tuesday, Sept. 8 following her time away from the talk show
- Ripa was absent for six weeks after undergoing gum graft surgery
- The painful surgery left her unable to talk for an extended period of time
Kelly Ripa is back on morning TV after taking time off to recover from gum graft surgery.
On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the show host, 55, returned alongside her husband and co-host, Mark Consuelos, to their show Live with Kelly and Mark.
“[I’m] so much better,” she tells PEOPLE post-surgery. “It was fine. It was definitely necessary. I delayed it for five years. I really did because I was like, ‘I’ll wait until I retire.’ And then, eventually my dentist was like, ‘Okay, now we have to finish it.’ ”
Ripa spent some of her down time on vacation, admitting it was “a little strange” to have stitches in her mouth.
Credit: Disney/ Lorenzo Bevilaqua
“She doesn’t follow instructions very well,” Mark tells PEOPLE of his wife.
“Oh, I was talking the whole time,” she admits, going against her dentist’s orders. “I was talking like crazy. He was like, ‘You’re not supposed to be talking.’ I’m like, ‘I’m fine!’ It did look weird, though, when I talked.”
She continued, “What was funny, a few of my producers said, ‘You just need to take the cotton out, take the cotton out from under your lower lip.’ And I was like, ‘There is no cotton. That is just swelling. That’s why I’m not at work today.’ ”
Credit: Dave Quinn/PEOPLE
The surgery came after years of “over brushing” and “over flossing” her teeth. Consuelos says that his wife is known for her excessive dental hygiene saying it takes her five minutes to brush her teeth.
“I’m getting better,” Ripa insists. “I’m retraining myself. I host a morning show. I know when there’s bad dental hygiene involved. It’s a good-bad habit, or a bad-good habit.”
Ripa’s return comes six weeks after Consuelos revealed that the longtime talk show host was recovering from gum graft surgery and would be taking a leave of absence from the talk show.
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“Kelly sends her love,” Consuelos, 55, said as he welcomed guest co-host Kevin Jonas on the July 27 broadcast. “Kelly had a little bit — well, it’s not a little — she had a gum graft surgery.”
A gum graft is a common periodontal procedure used to treat receding or thinning gums by transferring healthy gum tissue to cover exposed tooth roots. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the surgery can help reduce tooth sensitivity, protect against further gum recession and improve overall oral health.
Consuelos explained that though his wife was “doing well,” doctors ordered Ripa not to speak while she heals. Other rules include eating only soft foods, avoiding straws and resisting the urge to inspect the surgical site.
He revealed that Ripa’s doctor recommended the procedure years ago and noted that the recovery was especially “painful.”
“She famously doesn’t feel pain,” he said on the July 27 episode. “When she goes into the dentist, she doesn’t use the Novocaine. But this one hurts, so I know it’s bad.”
Credit: Disney/ Lorenzo Bevilaqua
On July 28, Consuelos gave an update on Ripa’s recovery, saying she was “feeling better” and can even say “certain things.”
Jonas, who served as guest host on July 27 and 28, then asked if Ripa was “allowed to speak” after the surgery, and Consuelos admitted, “I don’t think so,” before adding, “But she’s doing it without moving her bottom lip.”
“And she got a lot of love, messages, people were checking in, ‘cause we announced it on the show that she had surgery,” he added.
Mila Kunis served as guest host on July 29, while Pamela Adlon substituted on July 30 and Scott Foley on July 31.
Ripa previously shared on her Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast that she required the surgery because “I’m an over-brusher.”
“I brush my teeth too much. It’s a good-bad habit,” Ripa explained prior to the surgery. “But I’ve caused gum recession down here specifically, and so they have gotta re-gum my gums.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication (check local listings).
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