What are the Gums?

The gums, or gingivae, consist of pink tissue in the mouth that meets at the teeth’ base. There is only one gum or gingival for each pair of your teeth.

The gingival tissues are very dense. It has a vast and good supply of blood vessels under a moist surface; otherwise, it is a mucous membrane. The gingival tissues match the rest of the mouth lining but are pink in color instead of shiny red.

The gums are strongly attached to the jawbone and tightly cover each tooth up towards the neck. When they are intact, the gums cover the teeth’ roots and give them protection.

A gingival recession occurs after a person faces a loss of soft tissue in the gums. The sensitive roots get exposed to bacteria and plaque easily.

Why are my bottom teeth receding?

Most of the time, Poor oral Hygiene and periodontal diseases may take part in a gingival recession. However, healthy people with good oral Hygiene can also get affected by gum recession. Physical wear of the gums and swelling of the tissues are the chief reasons for recession.

Gum Recession Causes: 

Poor oral health and periodontal disease are the main causes of gum recession.

Some people may also be affected by receding gums due to their inherited reasons. These factors include the positioning of the teeth and the thickness of the gum.

Vigorous tooth brushing or hard bristles of toothbrushes are the common reasons for receding gums. Sometimes over brushing 2-3 times also damages your gum tissues badly.

This Brushing of teeth with force often affects the left side of the mouth more. Many people use a toothbrush in their right hand and put more pressure on the left side of the gums. This way of Brushing can also affect the side of the gums more than the front area of the teeth.

Other physical factors that cause the gums to move backward include lip or tongue piercings, misaligned teeth, and damage due to dental treatment.

Some people are more affected by the inflammation of receding gums due to having more fragile tissues. Thinner gum tissue makes it more likely that plaque will cause inflammation.

• When plaque builds up on the teeth, it can cause the following dental conditions:
• Inflamed gums: This condition is known as gingivitis and can lead to periodontitis.
• Periodontitis creates a place between the gums and teeth, plus the connection loss of connective fibers and bone surrounding the tooth roots. It can lead to receding gums and bone loss.

Periodontal disease is the most common cause of gum recession. Periodontal disease is the main reason for losing the supporting bone and tissues around your tooth through an inflammation reaction. The gum recession will affect all the teeth equally.

Risk Factors for Gum Receding:

Some of the risk factors for receding gums are listed below:

Aging:

Age is another key factor for receding gums. Around 88% of healthy people older than 65 have been affected by receding gum, at least in one of their teeth.

People who smoke usually and use tobacco products also face an increased risk of receding gums.

Genetic Factors:

Genetics is another severe factor, as people with thin or weak gums can pass these characteristics on via their genes to the next generation and ultimately, their gums recede.

Diabetes:

Diabetes is another problem that can also increase the risk of teeth gum recession.

Other Reasons for Receded Gum:

Additional causes of gum recession include

• Sports injury or trauma to your mouth: For example, body piercing studs of your lip or tongue will be rubbed against the gum tissue, which may cause a recession.
• Smoking. It’s not just cigarettes, either. You’re at high risk for gum recession if you chew tobacco or dip it with a pouch of tobacco daily.
• Crooked teeth. Prominent tooth roots, misaligned teeth, or attachment to the muscles may force gum tissues to move out.
• Poor fitting of partial dentures.
•  Grinding teeth while asleep: Grinding and clenching while sleeping will put extra force onto your teeth which will cause gum recession.

• Regular Brushing is also necessary to maintain good oral Hygiene. However, using an incorrect brushing technique could cause receding gums.
• The gingival margin is that part of the gum that comes in contact with the tooth’s crown. Corrective hard Brushing will damage the gum tissues margin, possibly causing gum swelling.
• Incorrect Brushing that can enhance gum recession are:
  • applying high-pressure
  • use of a hard or medium bristled toothbrush
  • brushing of the teeth in a broad, horizontal motion

Teeth Grinding and Clenching Causes Gum Recession:

• Some people grind the top and bottom sides of their teeth while asleep.
• The motion of teeth grinding exerts hard pressure onto the gums, which will cause the gum to recede over the period.
• Teeth grinding will make the teeth lose from their sockets. Grinding creates deep pockets between the tooth and the gum, where bacteria can collect. These bacteria trigger gum inflammation, which can make gum recession worse.

Injury:

Putting direct trauma to the gum tissue, especially in kids, will cause the gums to recede. 

Such injuries may occur in the following ways:

• during a bad fall or other accident
• during dental treatments
• while wearing poor-fitting partial dentures
• while playing contact sports

How Do You Fix Receding Bottom Gums?

There are many gum recession treatments available nowadays. You can take any of them with your periodontist consult.

 In mild cases of gum recession, you don’t need any treatment. Your Dentists may advise you to take preventive measures. He will also suggest you do a brush regularly and gently.

For most of the people who do need treatments, there are several options available for:

• The use of Desensitizing agents, varnishes, and dentin bonding gums will help reduce the sensitivity of the tooth roots. Desensitizing agents will help to treat the nerve symptoms and help to maintain oral Hygiene.
• Use of Composite restoration: your doctor will use teeth-colored composite resins to cover the roots of teeth. They can also close the pockets between teeth.
• Use of Pink porcelain or composite: This material is the same pink in color as the gums. It is applied to fill the gaps in your teeth where your gums have been receding.
• Removable gum veneers: These are mostly acrylic or silicone in texture. They are used to artificially replace the large area of missing gum tissue due to gum recession.
• Orthodontics: it includes treatments that slowly adjust the position of your teeth over a long period. This repositioning can minimize the gum margin and makes it easier to keep the teeth clean.
• Surgery: in this surgery, a dental surgeon grafts tissue from another site in the mouth, and the tissue heals over the gum recession. A person would usually only need this to treat severely receding gums.

The following treatments can restore gum tissue around the teeth:

Scaling and Root Planing:

A dentist may recommend scaling and root planing as one of the first treatments for receding gums.

These techniques remove plaque and tartar from below the gum line, where your brush will not reach.

Root planing helps to eradicate plaque and tartar from the roots of your teeth. Then your dentist will use special instruments for soothing the roots, which further helps the reattachment of gums with teeth.

Gum Grafting Surgery:

A dentist will suggest gum grafting surgery (GGS) if a person’s gums are badly affected.

During this process, a surgeon will take a small piece of gum tissue from any other part of the mouth to cover up the exposed roots of the teeth.

It helps to prevent bone loss and further receding of gums. It also helps to protect the previously exposed tooth roots from rotting.

Pinhole Surgical Technique:

Pinhole surgical technique (PST)Trusted Source is a new surgical treatment for treating mild to moderate gum receding.

PST is an invasive procedure in which a tiny hole is made in the gum tissue right above the exposed roots of a tooth.

A dentist will insert a tool into the hole to separate the gum from the tooth; then, they will expand and reposition the gum back over the exposed tooth root.

Prevent Receding Gums:

The tips mentioned below will help to slow down or stop the process of receding gum.

Practice Good Oral Hygiene:

Some of the following oral hygiene tips will help you to prevent gum receding.

• flossing between the teeth at least once a day-use fluoride toothpaste for brushing the teeth twice per day using a soft-bristled brush
• Using an antiseptic mouthwash will help reduce bacterial growth and remove all the debris.
• Choose a corrected-sized and shaped toothbrush that allows access to all other parts of your mouth.
• try to change the toothbrushes after at least every 2–4 months
• go to your Dentist regularly

Use of Correct Brushing Technique:

Trying the correct brushing technique will also help to prevent the gum from receding. 

The American Dental Association(ADA) has suggested the following tricks of brushing:

• It would help if you placed the toothbrush against your gums at an angle of 45-degree.
• Apply little pressure, and sweeping the toothbrush back and forth by applying small, tight strokes will help a lot.
• Brush from the outer and inner surfaces of teeth and the chewing sides of the teeth.
• When cleaning the inner parts of the front teeth, try to hold the toothbrushes in a vertical position.
• In total, Brush the teeth for 2 minutes.

People can also take their dentist’s recommendations for modifying this technique to manage their receded gums.

Receding Gums Mouthwash:

There are so many good types of mouthwashes. We’ve included therapeutic mouthwashes you can buy from anywhere, and some of them will require a dentist’s prescription.

1. Crest Pro-Health Multi-Protection
2. Crest Pro-Health Advanced with Extra Whitening
3. ACT Total Care Anticavity Fluoride
4. ACT Dry Mouth mouthwash
5. Colgate Total Pro-Shield
6. Listerine Cool Mint Antiseptic
7. TheraBreath Fresh Breath
8. CloSYS Ultra Sensitive

Wear a Mouthguard Suggested by a Dentist:

Wearing a mouthguard at night will help to prevent gum recession due to teeth grinding. Mouthguards create pressure on the jaws and act as a physical barrier to keep a gap between the top and bottom of your teeth.

Mouthguards are available easily from most shops. A dentist can also suggest you a customized mouthguard, which will provide a better fit.

Is your toothbrush Causing Gums to Recede?

Brushing your teeth too forcefully also causes your gums to recede. Here are some tips for brushing your teeth:

• Use a soft toothbrush instead of one with hard bristles.
• Be gentle as you brush. Let the bristles do the work, not your arm muscles.
• Brush at least twice per day and for at least two minutes at a time.

Can you fix badly receding gums?

The simple answer is no. If your gums are damaged by, for example, periodontitis, the most severe form of gum disease, it’s not possible for receding gums to grow back. However, even though you can’t reverse receding gums, treatments can help stop the problem from getting worse. 

Can receding gums come back down? 

The answer is no; receding gums do not grow back. Let’sLet’s identify what causes receding gums first to allow you to slow down the gum recession process.