Why are my gums receding?
Question:
Why does [the gum push down away from my tooth]? It looks like there won’t be support to my tooth if it [keeps] on happening. Is there any solution for it?
Answer:
It sounds like what you’re describing is a severe case of gingival recession.
What Causes Gingival Recession
Severe recession usually results from gingivitis or periodontitis. Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gums around the tooth. Periodontitis is similar to gingivitis, except it also includes loss of bone around the tooth and shrinkage of the gum tissues away from the tooth.
How to Prevent Gingivitis/Gum Recession
You want to try your best to preserve the tooth and its surrounding structures. The gums (gingiva) usually shrink away from the teeth because bacteria have accumulated in areas around the tooth. The bacteria cause our immune system to react in several ways to fight it off. A combination of our immune system reactions and the harmful toxins released from the bacteria lead up to periodontitis (the gums shrinking away from the tooth).
The best way to treat this is to FLOSS EVERYDAY especially around this tooth and be sure to brush thoroughly all surfaces of your teeth. If not, bacteria will continue to accumulate around your gumline and continue to add to your condition.
Is the tooth loose? If so, you may need to visit your dentist for further evaluation.
Is there plaque or calculus around the tooth? If yes, you will need a dental cleaning in order to effectively remove all of the bacteria from this area.
If the gum recession is severe, you can always visit your dentist for a periodontal graft to assist in replacing the tissue.
As a reminder, be sure to begin to take steps to treat this situation now. If allowed to worsen, the tooth could eventually become loose and even fall out. View our articles on Brushing and Flossing for more details on how to properly clean your teeth.
Good luck,
SaveMySmile Team
Loading ...
I am so sad i have gum disease, i pay so much money to treat it and its on my all day and when i awake at night. Im 30 and my teeth are now disgusting from the black spaces. I havent even kissed my husband in 2years as i feel ugly and pathetic. My side of the family all had it now it reached me and i hate it. Am i fighting a losing battle?
You are not necessarily fighting a losing battle.
Honestly, it depends upon the extent of your gum disease and the extent of your bone loss.
Being that you said you have “black spaces” that lets me know that you have had some bone loss in addition to the inflamed gums. In order to fill in those spaces, a procedure, call a connective tissue graft or free tissue graft, is usually performed. A connective tissue grafting procedure removes gum tissue from another area in your mouth, most likely the roof of your mouth, and placing it in the area where you would like for the gum tissue to grow back.
This procedure requires plenty of recall examinations to ensure that the graft took successfully and only has about 60-65% of success but definitely worth the gamble if you want your smile back.
I would encourage you to see a periodontist and not a general dentist to treat your gum disease. The periodontist is specially trained in this area and there are plenty of new treatment techniques on the horizon to help you regain your smile.
Good luck and keep us posted,
Save My Smile
hello, thank you for replying. yes i have a periodontist here is in Sydney and been going for 5 years now..but this bleeding comes about even though my teeth are brushed twice daily, i floss and also use interdental brushes.. I get regular cleans 4-6mnths but still i cant control this problem. I dont even eat sweets, All my friends and work collegues have great healthy smiles and i cant smile incase they see this. I dont want to be pitied. A dentist tole me i can use Ccmposite to bond my front teeth, is that ok will i stil be able to clean well? dentist said its fine but i just wanted to double check. thank you.
can someone tell me, how long will teeth last for if someone has periodontal disease and goes to a periodontist, doesnt eat junk food, doesnt smoke, cleans teeth by brushing 2x a day, floss and intedental brushes are also used???????? is it possible to keep them?
If you are currently seeing a periodontist and still encounter bleeding it sounds like you may have a more aggressive form of periodontitis that isn’t necessarily correlated to your dental health.
But to answer your question, composite bonding is an excellent option. However, the dentist must bond the composite very well to ensure that you can floss around it without dislodging the composite. Composite bonding is essentially the same as getting veneers. Except veneers are made of porcelain where as composite is a resin material, meaning it can capture staining. If you get composite bonding, you will have to get them redone every 5-10 years because of staining.
But once completed and in place, Yes you will be able to clean your teeth very well.
Thank you very much in answering my questions. Regards.
No problem.
In my years of practicing dentistry in the states, I’ve seen some cases of gum disease resolve and some cases continue to get worse.
Just know that there is always an option! As long as you are doing what you need to do on your end, it’s really up to your body’s chemistry as to whether the gum disease will get under control or not.
However there are soooo many ways to improve your smile ranging from composite bonding, composite veneers, porcelain veneers, and in more dramatic cases crowns and in worse case extractions and implants if needed.
Best of luck to you!