My gums are receding – why is it happening, and what can I do about it? Receding gums (gingival recession) is the diminishing of the soft and delicate gum tissue, leading to the exposure of the roots with time. Gums generally start to recede around a person’s 40s, but sometimes this process can start as early as the teens. This common gum condition is among the most common indicators of periodontitis (periodontal disease, gum disease, or gingivitis).

The causes of receded gums include:

- Brushing aggressively with a hard-bristled brush, which may cause erosion of the enamel at the gum line.

- Periodontitis.

- Irregular brushing and/or flossing, which allows bacteria / plaque to buildup, resulting in enzymes of these microorganisms deteriorating the teeth.

- Tobacco chewing, this affects the lining of the mucus membrane and causes receding of the gum lines over time.

- Teeth grinding (Bruxism), which may cause the gum lines to start pulling back on its own.

- Lip and tongue piercing, which may wear away the gum where the piercing rubs against it.

- SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate), an irritating ingredient that can be found in most toothpaste.

The loss of the gum tissue happens over time, and is often hard to spot. Some symptoms that may warn you about the receding of the gum include:

- Your teeth have become sensitive to cold, hot, sour, sweet, or spicy foods (this happens due to the exposure of the dentin tubules).

- Your teeth have started to appear longer than they used to be.

- The roots of your teeth seem to be exposed.

- Your teeth have started to look yellow at their roots (this is because cementum is different in color in comparison to the tooth enamel).

- Your teeth may seem to have larger spaces between them (this is because the gum line is no longer covering these spaces anymore).

- You have tooth cavities, which are located below your gum lines.

In cases when receding gums have gingivitis as their root cause, there may also be present the following symptoms:

- Inflamed/swollen/red gums.

- Bleeding while flossing or brushing.

- Chronic bad breath.

Any symptoms that you may be noticing have to serve you as a call to action, and it’s yet better to start acting before you see any disturbing signs of a gum disease. Proper oral care (brushing your teeth twice per day with a soft-bristle brush, flossing your teeth and rinsing your mouth), as well as regular cleaning of the teeth at the dentist’s office, will help you to avoid most of the gums disorders, and to improve the condition of the existing ones.

Why do gums recede? There are, in fact, many different causes behind the recession of the gums. The main culprits that may often cause this gum disorder include: gingivitis, poor dental hygiene, and aggressive dental hygiene. Moreover, people with some other diseases that are not connected to dental health, can also be at a higher risk of receding gums. For instance, diabetic sufferers are known to run a higher risk of gingivitis, and, therefore, also a higher risk of receding gum disorder.

Poor hygiene causes plaque to build up on the teeth. Plaque consists of the leftover food particles mixed with saliva, and it comes in the form of a transparent or slightly opaque film on the teeth and in the cracks of the teeth. Bacteria that start to develop, in and on the dental plaque, starts to destroy tender gum lines, leading to receding gums. The good point is that it’s very easy to remove plaque merely by regular brushing and flossing.

If dental plaque is not removed regularly, it starts to turn into harder tartar on the teeth, as well as tooth decay. Tartar (or calculus) forms from plaque, minerals, and saliva. Tartar comes in the form of incrustation on the teeth, and can start causing decay. Tartar damages the gums, often making them bleed and feel sore, and this can also become a culprit of receding gums. Decay, in its turn, can result in the loss of teeth, which can also lead to the recession of the gums.

The conclusion is simple: we need to regularly clean our teeth in order to eliminate one of the common causes behind a receded gum – poor hygiene.

Aggressive dental hygiene, including vigorous tooth brushing and flossing are among the worst enemies to our gums. Two out of three people apply too much force at the time of brushing and flossing their teeth, destroying and brushing away the delicate gum tissue. Thus, aggressive hygiene is another culprit of receding gums.

The third common cause of receding gums is gingivitis. Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums that may also often be caused by improper oral hygiene. The symptoms of gingivitis (puffy bleeding gums) may become an early warning sign to warn a person about the need to start practicing proper oral hygiene, in order to avoid unpleasant consequences in the form of periodontitis and gum recession.

Proper oral hygiene consists of brushing your teeth twice per day with a soft brush, and gently flossing your teeth at least once per day. Committing to proper dental hygiene will help anyone to avoid and to improve many issues with gums and teeth, including receding gums.

Receding gum disease is often related to gum infections, unhygienic dental routine, and bleeding gum lines. If you see any of the warning signs (bleeding gums, irritated or swollen gums, cavities, loose gums, frequent toothache, plaque built up, bad breath, and loose teeth), or if you know that your dental hygiene is not on par with the standard oral care, you need to start taking care of your oral hygiene.

A bacterial infection is one of the root causes of the aforementioned symptoms. The bacteria and microbes develop when people don’t clean their teeth regularly and properly. The bacteria that are not removed on a regular basis will lead to plaque and tartar build-up, leading to bleeding, bad breath, and receding gums. One of the serious problems that may be standing behind bleeding and swollen gums is gingivitis, ignoring it may lead to tooth loss, as well as the loss of gum tissue at a very early age.

If you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, you need to start taking precautions to prevent any further damage. Proper oral hygiene will help you to achieve both – healthy teeth and healthy gums. Even the people, who don’t have any of the warning signs, need to take proper oral hygiene seriously, in order to prevent any dental problems. Proper dental care consists of brushing your teeth twice a day, in the morning and at bed time. If you have sensitive teeth, you may want to look for special herbal non-fluoride toothpastes for sensitive teeth.

Proper oral care routines are just as important as healthy diet, walking, and a good night sleep. This matter should be taken very seriously. Unfortunately, there is no cure for many gum and tooth conditions, other than surgery. The products that claim to whiten yellow teeth, to eliminate bad breath, or to tighten your gums, may actually harm your teeth and gums due to their harsh chemical ingredients. The only “cure” is the good old dental hygiene, including regular tooth-brushing, flossing and rinsing, which will help to reduce the problems associated with receding gums.

Other than using quality commercial mouthwashes, brushes, and toothpaste, you can make some homemade remedies. Mouthwashes with salt will help you with relieving tooth sensitivity. Merely add 1 teaspoon of salt to one glass of warm water, and gargle with this mixture after each meal, and you will be one step closer to healthier gums and teeth.

Adding vitamin C and calcium to your diet will also help you in improving many of the receding gum disease related conditions.

What causes receding gums and how to fight these causes? It’s a fact that the main cause behind the recession of the gums is improper hygiene. Other causes behind this gum disorder include genetics and aging. We cannot do anything about the genes that we have, and there is nothing we can do to stop the natural aging processes in our bodies. However, it’s very easy to eliminate the third cause – improper hygiene.

No mater if you are looking to slowing down the development of receding gums in an adult, or if you want to educate children about the proper hygiene that would help them slow down the onset of receding gums, the answer is the same – learn and educate others about the proper way to take care of your teeth and gums.

Proper dental hygiene consists of a few important aspects: brushing, flossing, and rinsing.

Brushing your teeth the proper way involves using the right brush the right way. A good brush is any regular brush with soft rounded bristles. Alternatively, you can try using a special automatic anti-pressure toothbrush, which will teach you not too apply undue pressure onto your teeth and gums, as it will switch off each time you apply too much pressure. The right way to brush is doing so in soft circular motions, avoiding causing any pain or discomfort to your gums and teeth.

Flossing the right way requires you to gently floss your teeth at least once per day, using a clean area of the floss for each tooth. You need to make sure that you floss thoroughly (including guiding the floss around the gums), but delicately.

Rinsing your mouth is also very important. Good oral rinses (Listerine, Crest, etc.) will kill the remainders of bacteria in your mouth, and will remove the remainders of food particles. If alcohol content in most mouthwashes is a concern to you (e.g., if you are looking for a good mouthwash for a child), you may want to opt for an alcohol-free mouthwash, such as Crest Pro Health. The proper way to use mouthwash is as follows: swish mouth rinse for 30 seconds in your mouth, spit it out, and restrain from any food or drinks for about 30 minutes after rinsing.

Learning about proper oral hygiene is the best way to eliminate most of what causes receding gums. Regular check-ups with your dentist (every 6-12 months) will help you to spot any other potentially dangerous dental conditions in their early stage, which will also help you in fighting gum recession.

Why are my gums receding, and what to do about it? Receding gums is a very common condition. One of the saddest facts about this unsightly disorder is that the only way to make the gums “grow back” is with the aid of surgery. However, there are ways to sufficiently slow down the progression of this discomforting and painful condition, as well as to eliminate the main causes behind it.

Many people are taught from a tender age about the proper way and proper frequency of brushing and flossing their teeth. The sad fact is that we are often taught the wrong way, which becomes obvious after talking to a dentist. Our parents and other adult relatives may teach us to brush our teeth forcefully and often (after each meal), in order to keep our teeth healthy. Our dentists, on the other hand, will advise us to gently brush our teeth a maximum of two times per day, to keep our gums healthy.

The sad fact is that vigorous brushing and flossing of the teeth simply destroys the soft gum tissue, resulting in receded gums with exposed and sensitive roots. By no means does this imply that the less you brush and floss, the healthier your gums will be. Rare and irregular brushing and flossing will result in the permanent build-up of plaque on your teeth. This plaque will become a “Petri dish” for various microbes and bacteria, whose bio-waste and other toxic excretions will be destroying the gum tissues, little by little, resulting in the “recession” of the gum line.

Dentists recommend to us that we commit to regular, and most importantly, proper dental care. Proper dental care means brushing your teeth gently with a soft-bristle brush, twice per day. You need to brush is circular motions, avoiding pressing too hard on the brush. If you are not sure whether you are applying too much pressure, you may want to switch to an inexpensive automatic brush (Oral-B, Braun), which would help you control the amount of pressure that you apply by switching off when you apply too much. You need to also be very careful with flossing, doing your best to avoid causing any painful or discomforting sensations to your gums while you are flossing. You need to floss only once per day, and a maximum of two times per day.

Using a good mouthwash is also very important for the overall health of your gums. Dentists recommend that we regularly use a good mouth rinse (Listerine, Oraldene) once per day, such as after breakfast in the morning.

Receding gum lines are a very common issue for people over 40. However, this condition can also target people as young as their teens.

Most people know about the importance of proper oral hygiene for the health of their teeth and gums. The problem is that many people do not know what proper oral hygiene really means. There are numerous misconceptions about this important matter, including: one needs to strenuously brush their teeth, one has to floss only once a week, one needs to use a hard bristle brush to properly cleanse their teeth, etc. These common misconceptions often become the cause of receding gums, especially in genetically predisposed people.

In order to prevent this common gum problem, as well as to improve its state in case you have already developed this condition, you need to learn about proper oral care. Below are several tips that will help you in learning more about proper dental care for receding gums.

- Use soft brushes, rather than hard bristle brushes. It is very important to remember that hard brushes will do more harm than good to your teeth and gums in the long run. While brushing your teeth twice a day is vital for good oral health, vigorous brushing with a hard toothbrush will overtime result in wearing away of the thin gum-tissue.

- Brush your teeth in circular motions. Many people strenuously brush their teeth from top to bottom, which pushes away the gum-tissue and will expose the roots over time. The proper tooth brushing technique is brushing your teeth in gentle circular motions.

- Use a toothbrush and dental floss not less than twice daily. Performing these two procedures at bedtime is especially important, since it removes the build-up of bacteria that would otherwise start damaging your gums and teeth throughout the whole night. Remember that flossing is almost as crucial as brushing your teeth. You also need to be very gentle with flossing, making sure that you do not cause any unpleasant sensations or damage to your gums.

- Rinse your mouth with warm salty water after each and every meal. Even if you cannot afford regularly purchasing commercial mouthwashes, or if you dislike their taste, you can make your own inexpensive homemade mouthwash by adding one teaspoon of common table salt into one glass of warm water.

Proper oral hygiene will help you to prevent, improve, and slow down the receding of your gums.

Receding gums NHS (National Health Service) and private receding gum treatment options will provide you with different options. If you live anywhere in the UK, and you need a dentist for your gum condition, you will truly need to weigh your options and to do your homework.

First of all, if you are a permanent UK resident, you will be able to find both, NHS treatments and private treatments for your condition. Unfortunately, not all NHS dental care treatments are free of charge, and there will most likely be charges associated with dental care. Moreover, you will need to wait on a waiting list (a couple of months for any major work). If you choose to go for the private treatment option, you will not have to wait for that long, but you will be unpleasantly surprised with the cost of the treatment.

If you are not a resident of the UK, you will not be eligible for the NHS coverage, whatsoever. You may be better off with purchasing private health care insurance, since many of the more involved health services that are required for fixing of a receding gum line, are very expensive. If you do require immediate help, you will still have to be willing to pay from your own pocket.

Opting for an implant for a receding gum may be out of the price range of private patients. For instance, if you have receding gums and crowns, your dentist may offer to replace your crowns with implants, and one such implant may cost around £2,000. Your dentist may also advise you to visit an oral surgeon for an assessment, which may cost around £100.

If you are covered by NHS, you may also want to find out whether you will be charged separately for seeing a dental hygienist, such as for scaling and polishing of your teeth. Some places will have these procedures included into the initial visit, and others will not.

What kind of treatment for receding gums can you receive in the UK, whether you are covered by the NHS, by private insurance, or if you are paying from your own pocket? Your dentist may offer you one of the following: placing special filling on the exposed roots of the teeth to prevent further recession of the gums, non-surgical treatment options (scaling and planning), and some surgical options (cutting the gum tissue from both sides, and then suturing it together, or having a transplant sutured onto the exposed area of the tooth).

Why are my gums receding – one may ask? Let’s learn more about receding gums, and we will be able to answer this question.

Receding gum line is a condition that is believed to affect around 50% of adults all over the world. This condition is known to be tightly connected to improper oral hygiene. However, it’s interesting to note that not only lack of brushing and flossing, but also overdoing these techniques, may lead to the same consequences – the gums may start to recede. If you are an adult who is experiencing this condition, there may not be much that can be done to reverse it. Proper dental care will help you to slow down the further progression of this process, and veneers can help your teeth to start looking better. However, what you can and should do is teach younger people in your family (younger siblings, children, and so on) about the proper oral care to help them to avoid such problems in their adult years.

Proper dental care consists of the following aspects:

- Brushing your teeth with a soft toothbrush twice a day (before going to sleep and after breakfast). You need to brush your teeth in circular motions, and to avoid harshly brushing your teeth from bottom to top. It’s important to replace an old brush with a new soft brush every 3 months (recommendation of the ADA – the American Dental Association).

- Flossing your teeth at bedtime and after breakfast. The proper flossing technique is to gently guide the floss between your teeth, and slide it around each side of the tooth and around the gum line. You need to be especially careful when you floss around the gum line – make sure that you do not press too hard, and that there are no unpleasant sensations while you floss.

- Rinsing your mouth after every meal. It might be too detrimental to the enamel of your teeth and to your gums to brush and floss after every meal. However, it’s a good idea to rinse your mouth after every meal. Regular commercial mouthwashes are very effective, but they also are expensive and tend to have a strong unpleasant taste. There are two good options of a homemade mouth rinse with a neutral taste to choose from: mouthwash with salt (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 glass of water) and mouthwash with sage leaves (2-3 sage leaves per 1 glass of water). To make the first rinse, simply add the salt into water and mix it. To make the second rinse, place the sage leaves into boiling water, let them stand for a couple of minutes, and then strain. Sage herb is an astringent (contracts body tissues), which is particularly good for improving receding gum disorders. You can use the mouth rinse of your choice to rinse your mouth 2-3 times per day.

Receded gum (gingival recession) is a gum condition that is very common, especially in middle aged people. One of the worst aspects about this condition is that it is quite obvious to your onlookers: the loss of mucosal tissue on the jaw bones of the sufferer leads to distinct root exposure with time.

What is the cause behind receding gums? One of the most common causes behind this disorder is the improper brushing of your teeth, such as overly aggressive or irregular brushing. Brushing your teeth is vital for preventing the receding of your gum-line. However, damaging your gums and the enamel of your teeth by vigorous brushing will cause the bone and the enamel of the teeth to break-down. Brushing your teeth irregularly often leads to the same consequences, since in this case the bacteria will accumulate on and between the teeth, also causing the break-down of the jaw bone and the enamel. Other common causes of this disorder include gingivitis (inflammation, swelling and bleeding of the gums) and edentulism (tooth loss).

What are the symptoms of receding gums? There are quite a few symptoms associated with this disorder, including: pain, discomfort, irritation and inflammation in the gum area, gum sensitivity, caries (cavities or decay), and deep root exposure.

What are the treatment options for receded gum disorder? The most appropriate measure is starting to prevent any further worsening of the condition, which can be achieved with a proper oral hygiene, such as gently brushing your teeth with a soft toothbrush at least twice a day.

Additionally, there are some natural treatment options to help you. One of the best options is an astringent (an agent causing contraction of various body tissues) mouthwash, such as a mouthwash with sage herb. Sage herb can help you to tighten your gum-lines while relieving pain and discomfort associated with receding gums. You can make an all-natural home-made mouthwash from sage leaves using the following instructions: place a few sage leaves into boiling water, let them stand for a couple of minutes, and strain. Use this wash to rinse your mouth 2-3 times a day.

There is currently no cure available for this common gum condition other than periodontal plastic surgery. Periodontal surgery can help you to correct receding gums, as well as exposed roots, uneven gum-line, long teeth, etc. However, such a surgery may not be suitable for everyone due to its high cost.

For some reason, many people fear a trip to the dentist’s office more than virtually anything else on the planet. It can reach phobia levels of fear, for some people. For this reason, many people put off necessary dental care until problems that could have been addressed with preventative care have reached the point to requiring extreme and painful intervention. Among the most common problems to develop among those who neglect proper and regular dental care are receding gums. The worst part about it is that the problem often develops to the point that it is virtually untreatable; an issue that could easily be avoided by a trip to the dentist and the phrases “I have receding gums.”

Most people who suffer from receding gums recognize the problem long before they seek out treatment. It is not as if receding gums are invisible. Indeed, they generally present with numerous, easily visible physical symptoms. Among the most common of these symptoms are teeth that suddenly appear to be elongated (longer and/or thinner), notches appearing just above the gum line and/or cavities appearing at or below the gum line. In most cases, these symptoms are noticed by the sufferer of the problem well before they are observed by anyone else. And yet, many people refuse to recognize the problem.

If you are among the millions of people that are suffering from receding gums, it is important to realize that they are nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, they are a treatable dental condition, and the earlier they are detected and diagnosed, the easier and more effective any treatment attempt with certainly be. As this tends to be a progressive issue, the longer it is allowed to remain untreated, the longer it is going to grow into a bigger and less manageable problem.

The bottom line is that if you can look yourself in the mirror and say “I have receding gums,” chances are that you need to get into a dentist’s office as soon as possible. This professional dental intervention may be the step that saves your teeth and gums, which means that it is not something that you can afford not to do. Face it, the longer you allow your receding gums to remain unattended, the bigger the problem is going to become. Even if you feel as though the issue is miniscule, visiting a dentist can only help you.