Kelly Ripa has explained that her absence from Live! With Kelly and Mark since 27 July was due to gum-graft surgery. The presenter said years of over-brushing had caused gum recession, and her doctor advised that the procedure could no longer be postponed.

The surgery transfers tissue from the patient’s palate to areas where gums have receded. Ripa said she had originally been advised to have it five years earlier, but delayed it; her husband and co-host Mark Consuelos previously said she was recovering at home and had been ordered not to speak.