Receding gums are becoming exceedingly common. It may seem like no big deal, but it can lead to exposed roots, sensitive teeth, and in severe cases tooth loss! There are a couple of causes for receding gums…
Aggressive Brushing- Either you’re brushing too hard or you’re using a toothbrush with bristles that are too hard. One way to immediately stop this habit is to brush with your non-dominant hand. If you’re a righty, use your left hand and vice versa for lefties. You’ll be physically unable to brush as hard. Also, look for a soft bristled toothbrush, no one should use medium or hard. They even sell a Super-Soft toothbrush for those with very delicate gums. The other option is to use an electric toothbrush. The newer models of Sonicare toothbrushes have an app that will tell you if you’re missing brushing any areas, it also decreases its frequency when it senses you’re brushing too hard.
Periodontal Disease- commonly known as gum disease. This happens when plaque sits under the gums for too long, causing an infection, and the surrounding bone gets eaten away. Sometimes the bone goes down, but the gums stay high (causing a deep, hard to clean pocket) and other times the gums go down too. This is why its so important to have a professional cleaning every six months. Your toothbrush reaches about 1 millimeter under your gums, but the average healthy gum is 3 millimeters deep! 2 millimeters doesn’t sound like a lot, but that’s more than enough for plaque and bacteria to survive and thrive. Once you are affected by periodontal disease, you’ll always have to come in more often- usually every 3-4 months- in order to keep things from progressing.
Grinding or Clenching- When you’re asleep, the sensors in your brain that tell you you’re biting too hard are turned off. This is how you’re able to grind or clench your teeth with over ten times the force you normally chew. All this force on the tooth and the supporting bones and gums can lead to major problems. Teeth can crack, or become sensitive, and gums and bones can recede. The treatments for grinding and clenching can include wearing a nightguard, weakening the clenching muscles with Botox injections, or doing physical therapy.
If your dentist has recently diagnosed your receding gums, now is the time to make these little changes! If your gums recede too much, you’ll need to have an additional procedure done to build the gum back up (a gum graft procedure). Your gums are the foundation of your smile! Keep them healthy and make them a priority!
