Kelly Ripa Reveals ‘Good-Bad Habit’ That Led to Gum Graft Surgery and Extended Absence from Hosting Live

Kelly Ripa is revealing more details about her gum graft surgery, which led her to miss several Live with Kelly and Mark tapings.

In the latest episode of her Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast (recorded before her surgery), Ripa, 55, chatted with her guest — Survival of the Thickest creator and star Michelle Buteau — about the dental procedure and revealed what led to her needing it.

After Ripa mentioned the surgery in the Wednesday, Aug. 12 podcast episode, Buteau, 49, said that the surgery “sounds painful.”

“It is,” Ripa confirmed, before revealing that she is “not allowed to talk for ten days” after undergoing the gum graft — a common periodontal procedure used to treat receding or thinning gums by transferring healthy gum tissue to cover exposed tooth roots.

Per the Cleveland Clinic, the surgery can help reduce tooth sensitivity, protect against further gum recession and improve overall oral health.

As for why the Live co-host has to get the surgery — which sees “the skin off of the roof of your mouth” grafted to the gums — she told her podcast guest, “I’m an over-brusher.”

“I brush my teeth too much. It’s a good-bad habit,” Ripa explained to Buteau. “But I’ve caused gum recession down here specifically, and so they have gotta re-gum my gums.”

In the episode, Buteau also commended Ripa for taking the measures to care for her periodontal health — but the host cut her off to reveal that she has actually been putting off the procedure.

“Before you praise me, I was supposed to do it five years ago,” Ripa said. “But now, just so you know, the doctor was like, ‘Now, you don’t have the luxury of time.’ ”

Later on, she expressed worry over the no-talking rule, stating, “We’re already managing my stress level for not being able to talk for ten days.”

Ripa was out of Live for about two weeks as she healed from the gum graft surgery, PEOPLE previously reported.

The extended absence began on the July 27 episode, during which Ripa’s husband and co-host Mark Consuelos explained to viewers that she was recovering from the dental procedure and — as Ripa explained on her podcast — was under strict doctor’s orders not to speak while she heals.

Speaking alongside guest co-host Kevin Jonas in the episode, Consuelos, 55, said that his wife “sends her love,” and told viewers that her surgery was ”painful.”

Consuelos also said he was “trying to keep her to follow the rules, follow the directions,” which included eating only soft foods, avoiding straws and resisting the urge to inspect the surgical site.

“Yeah, it’s painful,” he said of his wife’s procedure at the time. “But she famously doesn’t feel pain. When she goes into the dentist, she doesn’t use the novocaine. But this one hurts, so I know it’s bad.”

Buteau also co-hosted Live with Consuelos during Ripa’s recovery. She and Jonas were two of several guest stars who helped fill in, along with Mila Kunis, Pamela Adlon, Scott Foley, Sarah Chalke, Jenna Dewan and Carrie Coon.