What are Receding Gums?

The gums play such a vital role in your mouth; making sure that they fit a vital part of maintaining overall oral health. One condition to be observed is receding gums, in which the gums move back apart or shrink from the tooth, revealing the lower areas and roots of the tooth. Receding gums are a public dental problem but can be a comparatively early sign of gum disease.

Recession procedures gaps (also known as pockets) between the teeth and repair receding gum line, making it easier for bacteria to form. The first indication is often tooth sensitivity or a tooth that seems longer than normal. If left untreated, sites of recession become gradually difficult to keep clean due to sensitivity and change in structure. It can lead to serious oral health problems, including tooth loss.

What are the First Signs of Gum Recession?

After brushing or flossing, you will notice bleeding from gums, redness and swollen gums. Sometimes bad breath and pain will start at the gum line. Although visible shrinking of gums will be observed, and teeth roots become more exposed. Loose of teeth is also the first sign of receding gums.

What Causes Receding Gums?

There are some reasons for a receding gum line, but the most common is gum disease, which brings some plaque and tartar onto the gum line. Regular brushing and flossing can provide assistance to take away this plaque and tartar, but if you do it gently, over-destructive oral hygiene can harm the gums and lead to recession. In addition to gum disease, family history, tooth placement, oral piercings, age, orthodontic appliances, trauma, and many other features can also increase your possibility for gum recession.

Poor oral hygiene and many other periodontal diseases may contribute to a gingival recession. However, receding gums can also occur in persons with good oral hygiene.

Physical wear for the gums and inflammation of the tissues are the main reasons for recession.

Some individuals may also be affected by receding gums because of inherited factors. These features may cause the position of the teeth and gum thickness.

Some periodontics suggest that Physical wear of the gums by forceful tooth brushing or the usage of hard bristles is a more common cause of receding gums. Over-brushing is the main reason for receding gums even though you have good oral health.

This kind of physical recession frequently disturbs the left side of the mouth more. Most people take a toothbrush in their right hand and exert more pressure on their left gums. The shape also tends to disturb the side gums more than the front area.

Other physical features that push the gums back include lip or tongue piercings, crooked teeth, and mouth damage due to dental treatment.

Other receding gums symptoms include:

• Some families often have a gum disorder, and it continues to inherit from one generation to another over the period. Despite taking good care of the teeth, 30% of the population is facing gum recession, mainly due to genetic inheritance.

• Women possess most of the hormonal changes in different stages of their life; these changes affect almost every part of their body, even making their gums vulnerable and soft.
• Most of the time, the plague has developed on the tooth. The bacteria also help to accumulate some minerals onto the teeth, called tartar. This tartar helps in further growth of the bacteria and affects the teeth badly.

• The mouth remains dry most of the time, which means insufficient saliva, which ultimately weakens the gum tissues, causing the gum recession.
• Some individuals have irregular teeth alignment, which causes more pressure onto the gums, which causes inflammation and even receding gum at home.
• The presence of tobacco will cause the accumulation of the plague onto the tooth, which causes gum recession.

• Junk food consumption is the most common cause of gum disease these days; people usually don’t follow the suggested techniques of cleansing the tooth after consuming the junk food. Poor cleaning also leads to the recession of gums.

Due to possessing more sensitive tissues, some people are more affected by the inflammatory causes of receding gums. Thinner gum tissue creates it more than plaque will affect inflammation.

When plaque forms on the teeth, it can cause the following dental conditions:

• Inflamed gums: it is a condition identified as gingivitis and can be the main reason to form periodontitis.
• Periodontitis: This makes space between the gums and teeth, along with the loss of connective fibers and bone around the tooth roots. It can lead to receding gums and loss of bones.

Periodontal disease is the biggest cause of gum recession. Periodontal disease affects the loss of the supporting bone and tissue around the tooth through an inflammatory reaction. The gum recession tends to disturb all the teeth similarly. You need to consult with your dentist on time to take good care of your gum.

 Diagnosis of Receding Gum?

When you observe some pain, redness and swelling in your gums, you will go to the dentist for a checkup. He will check your gums with a ruler; it helps check for any inflammation and measures the pocket size of your teeth. A normal depth is 1-3 mm. your doctor will also suggest an x-ray to check if there is any bone loss or not.

Your dentist will be aware of the gum disease risk factors and may help diagnose gingivitis. If gingivitis is present, a periodontist will be suggested for further treatment.

Receding Gums Treatment:

Some methods to treat receding gums largely depend on how far the gums have receded. The best procedure is grafting techniques which a dental surgeon does. There is also some regenerative procedure being performed by the periodontal specialist as well.

Most patients having mild gum recession do not require any treatment. A dental surgeon will advise on the prevention and ask you to observe the gums time by time. Teaching effectively but gently brushing is an effective early treatment.

For the individuals who do want medical treatments, there are other options available for them.  

Varnishes, Desensitizing Agents, and Dentin Bonding Gels:

 These products help to reduce the sensitivity of the exposed roots of the tooth. Desensitizing agents will treat the nerve symptoms and help to preserve oral hygiene by easy brushing of sensitive tissues teeth.

Composite Restoration: 

A dentist will use tooth-colored composite resins to cover up the surface of the roots. They can also block the black gaps between teeth.

Pink Porcelain or Composite: 

This material has the same pink color as the gums and will be applied to fill the gaps where the gums have been receded.

Removable Gum Veneers:

These are usually acrylic or silicone, and they artificially replace the large area of missing gum tissue due to recession.

• Orthodontics

These include treatments that slowly move the position of the teeth over a long period. This repositioning can correct the gum margin and make it easier to keep the teeth clean.

• 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.

How to Reverse Receding Gum at Home :

Some natural remedies to protect your teeth from receding gums are:

Oil Pulling:

The oil pulling procedure results in a reduction of the plague from the teeth in many individuals. For oil pulling, swish one tablespoon of high-quality coconut oil around your mouth. After about 20 minutes, spit the oil out, rinse your mouth with saline water, and thoroughly brush your teeth.

Many research studies have shown that coconut oil prevents the bacteria (Streptococcus mutans)from damaging your teeth and minimizing your gums receding.

Salt Rinse:

Salt rinse is very useful against bacterial attacks and prevents your teeth from receding. It helps to soothe your swelling gums.

• Just add 1tsp of salt into 1 cup of hot water
• start Rinsing your mouth with that salt water for 30 seconds
• Spitting out the rinse and repeat the process 2-3 times

Aloe Vera Gel:

Applying aloe vera gel into the swollen gums will help to relax the tissues and protect your teeth from receding gums.

Turmeric Gel:

Turmeric gel contains curcumin; which possesses antioxidants along with anti-inflammatory ingredients. It helps a lot to recover your receding gums.

Use of hydrogen Peroxide:

Hydrogen peroxide is well known to treat the swollen, receded, soreness and redness of gums.

• Just add ¼ cup of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide to ¼ cup of the water
• start Swishing this mixture around your mouth for about 30 seconds
• Spitting the rinse out and repeat this process 2-3 times per week

Thyme Essential oil:

Thyme oil is very effective against microorganisms which causes multiple injections to your teeth. The use of thyme oil will help a lot to cure receding gums.

Green Tea:

Drinking green tea will help you to keep your gums and teeth healthy.

Medications to Treat Gums Recede:

Antibiotic microspheres have been inserted into your gum pockets after scaling and planning; to cure your receding gums rapidly.

• Antiseptic mouthwashes will also assist to disinfect your mouth and protect your teeth
• Oral antibiotics will be used for the treatment of swollen gums and prevent your teeth from receding gums
• Antiseptic chips will also be inserted into the pockets of your tooth after root planning to heal your receding gums

Prevent Receding Gums:

The great way to stop your gums from receding is by adopting good oral hygiene habits, especially brushing twice a day, flossing at least once a day, and having a professional cleaning and checkup twice a year. When you brush, pay attention to the gum line and be thorough but gentle; if you are too heavy-handed, you can damage the gums.

You may also want to consider products specifically designed to fight gingivitis and plaque around the gum line, like the Crest Gum Detoxify product line. Crest Gum Detoxify contains stannous fluoride (also known as SNF2) that binds to the toxic bacteria in plaque, essentially neutralizing it. It creates an activated foam that can reach around the gum line and target the bacteria for a deeper clean when you brush.

How long will it Take to Recover?

The time taken by the use of natural remedies to improve a person’s gum health will depend on several ways, which includes:

• the type of natural remedy the person is using
• the person is using the home remedy alone or along with the conjunction of other medicines
• either the person has been practicing a healthy oral hygiene plan
•  the severity level of the receding gum

If a person does not observe any improvement in their gum health by the use of natural remedies for receding gum line, then he should consult their dentist for further advice.

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, some treatments can help stop the problem from getting worse and protect your tooth from further loss.

Further Reading :

https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/oil-pulling/

https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/health-info/oral-hygiene

Dental Suggestions:

A receding gums periodontal dr will suggest that people take care of your receded tooth and gum line gum. The best way to cover your teeth from receding is by Taking preventive measures. Along with it regular checkup from the doctor is also necessary.

It would help if you practiced proper oral hygiene to protect your teeth from receding. You should also avoid smoking and maintain a healthy diet.

• Deep cleaning your teeth
• Antibiotic Medications
• Surgery
• Natural/Home Remedies.

Conclusion:

The best way is to cure the receding gum disease by taking all the precautionary measures. There are several steps to cure receding gums at the initial stages, such as saltwater rinses, good oral hygiene and a diet full of vitamins.

If the swelling lasts for weeks, always visit your doctor for a full and proper diagnosis and do the recommended treatment work.