Gum Recession and What to do About It

While gum recession is a common occurrence related to aging, it’s not just an “old person’s disease “ and age is not the real cause.It can happen to anyone, even someone with a relatively healthy mouth. And this detachment and shrinking back of the gums from the teeth may not be a minor problem—your dental health is definitely at risk.

Gum recession is a common dental problem that causes pain and sensitivity. Many people don’t know they have gum recession, because it occurs gradually. Receding gums are a clear sign of gum disease, which many people might ignore. “Gingival Recession,” otherwise known as receding gums, is a condition where the diseased tissue around a tooth begins to wear away or pull back. Research has shown that 50 percent of people suffer from some sort of recession with their gums.

Unfortunately, having receding gums can be painful for your teeth, causing them to become sensitive. Common signs and symptoms for receding gums are swollen, red or even bleeding. Some people will experience frequent bad breath, loose teeth, and even sores or pus surrounding the teeth and gums.

Gum recession is not something you want to ignore. If you think your gums are receding, make an appointment to see your periodontist. There are treatments that can repair the gum and prevent further damage.

Causes of Gum Recession

Gum disease

Overly aggressive tooth brushing or flossing

Genetics

Gum trauma

Here then are 4 things you should know about gum recession, and what you can do about it.

The most common cause: periodontal (gum) disease. A bacterial infection triggered by built-up dental plaque, gum disease weakens the gums’ attachment to teeth that leads to recession. To help prevent it, clean away plaque with daily brushing and flossing and visit a dentist regularly for more thorough plaque removal. If you already have gum disease, prompt treatment could stop the infection and reduce any resulting damage including recession.

…But not the only one. There are other factors that contribute to recession besides disease. In fact, it could be the result of “too much of a good thing”—brushing too hard and too frequently can damage the gums and lead to recession. You might also be more susceptible to recession if you’ve inherited thin gum tissues from your parents. Thin gums are at increased risk of recession from both disease and over-aggressive hygiene.

Receding Gums Treatment

If you are only mildly affected by receding gums, that’s great, as catching it early means that you likely won’t require professional treatment to fix it. Your periodontist will help you identify the cause and will instruct you in how to address it.

Along with helping you change the habits that caused the gum recession, Dr.Miski will determine whether you would benefit from a special, deeper cleaning called a scaling and root planing. This is frequently the solution when your gum recession is caused by periodontitis. Depending on the cause of your gum recession, you may have to have surgical treatmen

Best outcomes result from treating gum disease and/ or recession early

The earlier we detect and treat a gum problem, the better the outcome. See your periodontist (Gum Specialist) as soon as possible if you see abnormalities like swollen or bleeding gums or teeth that appear longer than before. Depending on your condition there are a number of treatment options like plaque removal or techniques to protect exposed teeth and improve appearance.

Grafting surgery could regenerate lost gum tissue

While with mild cases of gum recession the gums may respond well to treatment and actually rejuvenate on their own, that might not be possible with advanced recession. We may, however, still be able to restore lost tissue through grafting. Using one of a number of techniques, a graft of donor tissue can foster new replacement growth. It’s a meticulous micro-surgical approach, but it could be a viable answer to extreme gum recession.

If you would like more information on gum recession, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.