It can be scary and painful to have receding gums, however you don’t have to stress.
There are a number of actions you can take at home that may function as effective treatment for receding gums, depending upon the seriousness of the issue. The initial step for attending to an oral health matter is to consult your dental expert to find out whether your oral health requires further measures.
Causes
Gingival recession, or gum recession, is what happens when gum tissue is recessed and decreases its position on the tooth, exposing the roots of the teeth. This can be triggered by any number of life practices, and your course of treatment is frequently depending on the cause of the problem.
The following are a few of the most common causes of gum recession:
- Overly aggressive brushing or flossing. It’s great to be enthusiastic about oral care, however according to an article in the Journal of Periodontology Online, you should make sure that you’re brushing, not scrubbing!
- Never ever use a tooth brush that isn’t really labeled “soft.” Be mild on your teeth, and remember that taking care of them isn’t really expected to hurt.
- Genes. Your gums’ characteristics are determined by your genetics, simply as the rest of your body is. If one or both of your parents have gum recession, you’re at a higher risk for receding gums.
- Abnormal tooth positioning. If your teeth are not in positioning to one another, gum recession can occur in this scenario.
- Grinding your teeth, or bruxism. Do you frequently get up with a headache? Does your spouse or partner complain that you grind your teeth? This routine can be the cause of numerous dental maladies, not simply gum recession, so let your dental expert understand immediately if you believe you are grinding your teeth. Teeth grinding can be treated easily and painlessly with a mouth guard and a number of other choices.
- Trauma to gum tissue. The gum tissue might decline when a traumatic injury has happened on a tooth or teeth.
- Poor oral health. If your oral health routines are doubtful, gum recession may be an outcome of periodontitis.
Infection (such as gingivitis) or Periodontal disease
In this case the gums may be a darker red, blue or purple colour, they may intermittently bleed when you brush – this may differ from individual to individual. But truly the only method to actually tell is for your dental professional to take measurements using a periodontal probe and through dental X-Rays.
An anatomical factor called fenestrations in the bone
The position of the tooth in the jawbone can suggest that there are areas on the roots of some teeth that have no bone covering them at all. It is simply the gum sitting against the root of the tooth – it is exposed. This in some cases occurs naturally and sometimes takes place after Orthodontics because teeth get moved through the bone. This is a typical area for gums to recede. Usually that will be self-limiting, ie generally the gum will decline up until it is back on the bone forming
There is a fair little variability from tooth to tooth and person to individual which is why it is very important to see your dental professional to determine your gums and look for any gum recession. We are presently loving our new 3D X-Ray machine as it gives us a much better insight into these problems than other X-Ray machines.
Symptoms
Symptoms of receding gums consist of:
- bleeding after brushing or flossing
- red, swollen gums
- visibly shrinking gums
- exposed tooth roots
- halitosis
- pain at the gum line
- loose teeth
Receding Gums Treatment
Mild gum recession might be able to be dealt with by your dental professional by deep cleaning up the affected area. Throughout the deep cleaning – also called tooth scaling and root planing – plaque and tartar that has developed on the teeth and root surfaces below the gum line is thoroughly removed and the exposed root area is smoothed to make it harder for bacteria to attach itself. Antibiotics also may be provided to get rid of any staying harmful bacteria.
If your gum recession can not be treated with deep cleaning due to the fact that of excess loss of bone and pockets that are too deep, gum surgery might be needed to fix the damage triggered by gum recession.
Surgery and Gum Recession
The following surgeries are used to treat gum recession:
Open flap scaling and root planing: During this procedure, the dentist or periodontist (gum medical professional) folds back the impacted gum tissue, eliminates the hazardous bacteria from the pockets, and then snugly secures the gum tissue in place over the tooth root, thus removing the pockets or reducing their size.
Regrowth: If the bone supporting your teeth has actually been damaged as an outcome of gum recession, a procedure to restore lost bone and tissue might be advised. As in pocket depth decrease, your dental professional will fold back the gum tissue and get rid of the bacteria. A regenerative product, such as a membrane, graft tissue, or tissue-stimulating protein, will then be applied to motivate your body to naturally regrow bone and tissue in that area. After the regenerative product is put in place, the gum tissue is secured over the root of the tooth or teeth.
Soft tissue graft: There are a number of kinds of gum tissue graft procedures, however the most commonly utilized one is called a connective tissue graft. In this treatment, a flap of skin is cut at the roofing system of your mouth (taste buds) and tissue from under the flap, called subepithelial connective tissue, is eliminated and after that sewed to the gum tissue surrounding the exposed root. After the connective tissue – the graft – has been gotten rid of from under the flap, the flap is stitched pull back. Throughout another type of graft, called totally free gingival graft, tissue is taken straight from the roofing of the mouth rather of under the skin. In some cases, if you have adequate gum tissue surrounding the impacted teeth, the dental professional is able to graft gum from near the tooth and not eliminate tissue from the taste buds. This is called a pedicle graft.
Your dental expert can determine the best type of procedure to use on you based on your individual needs.
Prevention
The best way to avoid gum recession is to take good care of your mouth. Brush and floss your teeth every day and see your dentist or periodontist at least two times a year, or as advised. If you have gum recession, your dental practitioner may wish to see you more often. Always use a soft-bristled toothbrush and ask your dentist to show you the correct method to brush your teeth. If a misaligned bite or teeth grinding is the cause of gum recession, speak to your dental expert about how to correct the issue. Other methods to prevent gum recession include:
- Given up cigarette smoking if you smoke.
- Eat a well balanced and healthy diet.
- Monitor changes that may occur in your mouth.
By taking good care of your teeth, you can have a healthy smile forever.