^{Receding gums}

Noticing more tooth and less gum?

Why gums pull back, which cases only need monitoring, and which ones need treatment.

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Recession, explained

Recession means the gum margin is slowly sliding down the tooth, uncovering more enamel and then the root below it. The tooth can look taller, your fingernail may catch on a small step near the gum, and an ice-cold drink can suddenly zing one particular spot. It’s very common, it moves at a slow pace, and it’s easy to manage if you catch it early.

What matters most is the root surface. It isn’t covered by enamel the way the crown is, so once it’s exposed it’s touchier with hot and cold and more prone to wear and cavities.

What causes it?

Usually a combination of things:

Heavy-handed brushing

Pressing hard with a stiff brush, day after day, literally wears gum away. Soft bristles and gentle circles get teeth just as clean.

Periodontal disease

Gum disease eats away at the tissue and bone that keep gums anchored, and a dropping gumline is one of its hallmarks. Bleeding or swollen gums too? Read up on the signs of gum disease and how we treat gum disease.

Clenching or grinding

The pressure from grinding bends teeth slightly right at the gumline, which wears on the tissue around them.

Inherited thin tissue

Some people are born with a thinner layer of gum, so recession tends to run in families.

Past braces and tobacco

Orthodontic movement through thin gum, plus smoking, vaping, or chew, all push the odds up.

Will the gum grow back?

Not without help. Receded tissue doesn’t return by itself, and at-home products that claim to regrow it can’t. What we can almost always do is stop it from going further, and where tissue is already gone, gum grafting can cover the root again. Removing the cause, then rebuilding where it’s needed, is what “fixing” recession realistically looks like.

Treatment options

We match the approach to what’s causing it and how far it’s gone:

Watch and measure

Mild, stable recession often just needs to be measured at routine checkups so we can confirm it isn’t moving.

Stop the cause

Switching to a soft brush, easing up on pressure, wearing a night guard for grinding, or treating active gum disease. This is what halts progression, and it’s part of the periodontal care we do in our own office.

Grafting

If bare root is showing or the spot hurts daily, we can borrow a little of your own tissue to cover it. It’s a smaller procedure than most people picture, done under local anesthetic in one visit.

Signs it’s time to get it looked at

Come in if cold drinks have started to sting, you can see a yellow band or bare root along the gum, your nail catches on a ledge near the gum, or one tooth now stands out as longer than its neighbors.

Since it moves slowly, a baseline measurement now means any change later is obvious and small. If you’re in Seattle, we’ll measure it, tell you honestly whether to treat it or simply watch it, and write down any next step we recommend.

^FAQ

Gum recession FAQs

Should I be worried about receding gums?

Rarely urgent. It creeps along over months or years. The time to act is when a root is exposed enough to start decaying, or when gum disease is the driver, which is exactly what an early measurement tells us.

Can I fix it on my own?

Partly. A soft brush, a lighter grip, and a plan for grinding all slow it down. Home care can’t pin down the cause or restore missing gum, though, so it works best alongside an exam.

Will I lose teeth from recession?

Recession alone rarely causes tooth loss. Gum disease is the bigger threat, since it erodes the bone holding the tooth as well as the gum.

Why is it only one tooth?

One-tooth recession almost always has a local reason: that tooth takes too much force when you bite, it gets scrubbed harder than the others, or the gum over it is naturally thin. Show us the spot and we’ll figure out which.