How Receding Gums Can Affect Your Teeth

Receding gums generally occurs when your gums have an irregular tendency of pulling back. In many cases, shrinking and exposing your teeth, including your roots, to harmful bacteria.

Many people would like to have a picture-perfect smile and can indeed have one. But neglecting your flossing and brushing can reduce the chances of maintaining your teeth healthy.  

Some of the most common symptoms are tooth sensitivity and irregular tooth sizes. Some teeth might appear larger than others due to the recession in the gum line. 

Although it might be hard to believe, this condition is prevalent. However, people tend not to notice the early stages of it. That is one of the reasons why it just gets worse until it is impossible to ignore.

Among the common symptoms of receding gums are visibly exposed roots of one or multiple teeth, red gums, constant bleeding after brushing or flossing, bad breath, and loose teeth.

If you notice one or more of these symptoms, don’t leave it for later, contact a dentist and schedule a consultation. Unfortunately, if this issue goes unattended, it can only get worse. But it’s still preventable, so make sure to follow a hygiene routine and attend to dental check-ups.

How To Fix Receding Gums?

Dental health problems are never fun, particularly receding gums; since the issue can lead to other complicated diseases and your gums can never grow back. And you might be wondering how in the world could you fix this dilemma.

First, you can try visiting a dentist. Schedule an appointment and have a one-on-one conversation with a professional. This is the only way you’ll know for sure what is happening and what to do about it. They’ll also give you the best route for treatment, but if you’re still curious, we can describe how it might go: 

Dentists could opt for a deep dental cleaning treatment by proceeding with a tooth scaling process.

And follow it up with root planing. This process will allow the dentist to get to the primary issue by cleaning your teeth where your toothbrush cannot reach.

After the treatment, you will need to heal. Though healing times can vary from patient to patient. During the healing process, your dentist will let you know about things you should expect in the following days, such as:

1. Pain
2. Discomfort around the area
3. Minimal swelling 
4. Redness 
5. Tenderness

You should consider your dentist’s advice about what type of care your gums should receive while recovering.

In case the dental treatment doesn’t take care of your problem, your dentist will most likely recommend and opt for other dental treatments utilizing different techniques and methods that will repair your gums.

 There is a diverse lineup of dental approaches your dentist can use to care for your receding gums, like regeneration surgery or open flap scaling root planing surgery, depending on the severity of your current oral state. 

Don’t wait until you start experiencing discomfort or sensitivity because the more you allow your gums to pull back, the more complications might arise.

Talk to your dentist about the different options they have available to ensure the results you desire.

Tips On How To Treat Receding Gums At Home

While you wait for your next dental check-up, there are ways you can treat your receding gums at home temporarily. 

It is essential to be aware these tips do not replace the experience of a professional dentist. The following dental care tips can help you treat those unpleasant symptoms at home:

1. Flossing and brushing: Oral care hygiene should always be your number one priority. Flossing before you touch at the very least once a day is essential to help your gums and remove harmful debris. Brushing for around two minutes using a toothbrush of your choice that doesn’t harm your gums; like a soft-bristled brush or your dentist can help you choose an ideal brush for your dental needs to prevent from worsening receding gums. 
2. Oil pulling: Oil pulling works similarly to traditional mouthwash. The liquid helps reduce plaque in people and patients alike. It also helps people that struggle with gingivitis.
3. Thyme essential oil: Oral care products like thyme essential oil are simple yet very effective in preventing the development of microorganisms that cause harmful diseases in your mouth. 
4. Hydrogen peroxide: While this approach might not eliminate receding gums issues, it can still reduce and alleviate symptoms that come with this dental issue like swollen gums, soreness, redness, discomfort, or excessive pain. 
5. Tea tree essential oil: Tree oil-based tea can be another excellent alternative for traditional mouthwash because it can help prevent bacteria’s development that can generate harmful diseases. 
6. Salt: It might seem like a simple and insignificant approach to treat receding gums, but salt works like a bacterial agent that soothes gum inflammation. In the end, it will not eliminate but decrease the speed of the development of the receding gums by dissolving them in warm water and rinsing the mouth for thirty seconds. Repeat the process twice a day for three days. 

Contact your Dentist in Clairemont

Before trying any of these, feel free to contact your dentist to hear what they have to say. If you still haven’t had any symptoms of receding gums, make sure to do as much as you can to prevent it. 

Visit your Clairemont dentist twice a year, replace your toothbrush every three months or so, buy toothpaste with fluoride, and try to floss every day. This way, you won’t have any issues in the future and even avoid other severe dental diseases and injuries.

If you think it’s time to pay a visit to the dentist, feel free to contact us. Serena Family & Cosmetic Dentistry is always available to take care of you. 

Our experienced dentist in San Diego and modern facilities guarantee an excellent experience. And what is best, we can offer you fantastic prices for dental treatments. If you are struggling with receding gums, this is the best place to start. Schedule your first consultation today.