What is Dental Recession and What Causes it

When the gum tissue around a tooth exposes the root, the tooth looks ugly, and may even be sensitive to hot and cold foods and drinks. If an exposed tooth is allowed to proceed untreated long enough, you can even lose the tooth. So what causes gum recession to show up in your smile to begin with?

Contributing Factors for Gum Recession

Contributing factors that cause gum recession are thin bone density, thin gum tissue or even a bad position of the tooth. If the tooth is sticking out, the gingiva will slip down as there is no bone covering and protecting the tooth.  Other causes for gum recession are brushing your teeth too hard, flossing around the gumline too hard or in the wrong place (usually on top of the papilla, the connective tissue extending into and nourishing the root of a developing tooth) and braces, which, if there is not enough of the keratinized gingiva (the harder pink gingiva closest to the tooth) will cause the tooth to move out of the bone).

Treating Gum Recession

The treatment of gum recession can be done in several ways.  The gold standard is to take tissue from the palate and place it over the recession. Another way is to use special donor tissue which, while more expensive, works most of the time.  Sometimes taking a strip of membrane used to cover bone will take care of multiple recessions (the pinhole technique, but its success is mixed). If a graft is placed prior to orthodontic treatment, the chance of recession is reduced because of the thicker gums.  Not all gum recession has to be treated if there is no increase in the recession and the causes (as in aggressive brushing) has been properly addressed. Read our page on gum recession for more in-depth coverage.

Call Today!

If you have further questions about gum recession or want to schedule our Mid Town Dental Services, please call 212-697-3946 today. We are happy to schedule a consultation for you with Dr. Mark Jacobson to learn more about gum recession treatment in New York City, New York. Your smile deserves high quality dental care!