How to Fix receding Gums?

Receding gums can compromise the health and look of your smile. Gum recession will make your teeth look longer. Additionally, your teeth may be sensitive to cold and brushing. Therefore, finding a fix and treatment to your receding gums will restore your smile, protect your teeth from root cavities and help avoid tooth loss. What causes receding gums and how to stop it?

Receding gums is a periodontal disease where the gum line pulls back from the teeth. Generalized gum recession is a natural process associated with aging. While receding gums affecting all the teeth may be a natural process, It is possible to correct the receding gums problem or slow it down. 

On the other hand, a localized gum recession affecting one or few teeth is a common problem that may be found at any age. The good news is that there are many treatment options available for gum recession.

Gum Recession Q & A

In this post we will be answering the following question on gum recession:

What causes receding gums?

What are the signs and symptoms of receding gums?

Can receding gums be reversed?

How to prevent gum recession?

Fixes and treatment of receding gums?

Where I go for receding gums treatment?

Let’s move on and answer these questions.

What Causes Receding Gums?

Gum recession is caused by many factors. As mentioned earlier, generalized gum recession is associated with age. On the other hand, localized areas of receding gums are caused by one or more of the following:

1. Poor oral hygiene: this is the most common cause on gum recession. However, poor oral hygiene is the easiest to manage. You should brush and floss your teeth at least twice day and visits to your dentist 2-4 times per year.
2. Trauma caused by hard brushing: using a hard tooth brush will not improve your brushing efficiency. On the contrary, it with harm your gingival tissue and might cause gum recession.
3. Bruxism: clenching and grinding your teeth will cause bone loss around the teeth. Gum tissue is supported by the jaw bone. Therefore, when you loose part of the jaw bone, the gum tissue will follow the bone loss and will recede. 
4. Misaligned teeth: a misaligned tooth is more likely to get gum recession. On the other hand, good orthodontic treatment is a good practice to prevent gum recession.
5. Orthodontic treatment: orthodontic treatment may cause receding gums in two ways. Firstly: braces make teeth cleaning harder which might contribute to poor oral hygiene. Poor oral hygiene is the number one cause for gum recession. Therefore, during orthodontic treatment, you should spend more time cleaning your teeth to avoid periodontal disease. Secondly: moving the teeth fast during orthodontic treatment will not give time to the bone around the teeth to remodel and rebuild. This results in jaw bone loss and gum recession. In other words, you should choose the right doctor for your orthodontic need. 

Other causes of Gum Recession

1. Smoking: smoking for long time plugs the small blood vessels in the gum tissue that will cause gum recession.
2. Poor dental work: bad fitting restorations and crowns may cause the gums to recede.
3. Dental and jaw trauma such as sport trauma.
4. Genetics: patients with thin gum tissue are more likely to have gum recession.
5. Dental appliances: such as partial dentures with clasps pushing the gum tissue.
6. Gastro Esophageal reflux Disorder (GERD).

What are the Signs and Symptoms of Receding Gingiva?

Loss of gum tissue around the teeth is a clear sign of gum recession. Patients with receding gums usually have one or more of the following symptoms:

• tooth pain and sensitivity to cold, hot and brushing
• root decay
• bad breath (halitosis)
• gingival inflammation and gum bleeding
• Loose teeth

Can Receding Gums be Reversed?

Unfortunately, gum recession cannot be reversed without surgery. However, taking some steps like improving the oral hygiene, stopping smoking and reducing gingival tissue trauma will keep the gums from getting worse and may stop receding gums.