I have gum recession because I brush my teeth too hard and makes my teeth look too long, waht can be done?

Q. I have quite marked gum recession (my dentist told me that I\’d brushed my teeth too hard). It affects my upper incisors most. It makes them appear very long compared to the other teeth. Can anything be done to improve the appearance

A.Dear A,

Thank you for your question this is not an uncommon problem. There are 3 main reasons why you may have gum recession:

1. Gum disease. Do your gums bleed when you brush or floss your teeth. If they do you probably have gum disease. This is an infection of your gums that causes your gums to be swollen and inflammed. More seriously the underlying bone supporting your teeth dissolves away. As this bone is lossed your gums receed.
Gum treatment is essential prior to improving the cosmetic problems. Following this the teeth can be bonded with composite( white filling material), porcelain veneers or sometimes require gum grafting.

2. As your dentist has mentioned over brushing I suspect your gum health is good. Over brushing and using too hard a tooth brush can cause you to rub away the relatively soft dentine. As your gums are attached to the dentine they receed as the dentine is rubbed away. Recent research suggests that it is actually the tooth paste that causes the damage. I would still recommend that you use fluoridated toothpaste but only use a little to reduce this effect. The treatment options are as indicated above.

3. The final possibility is that you are grinding or clenching your teeth or have an interference between your upper and lower teeth( your teeth are not working in harmony together). This, often in combination with the above, can cause generalised or localised gum recession. Following the above treatment to improve the cosmetic problem the bite often needs adjustment to allow even forces to be applied to the teeth and a night splint may be necessary to protect the teeth.

Quite a long answer to a seemingly simple question. Hope this helps.

Regards

Dr Julian Caplan BDS
Director on the board of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
Aviva Cosmetic Dentistry

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This post was published on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 5:05 pmand is filed under Dr Caplan's Answers, Experts Answers, Q. gums. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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